The postal workers decided several weeks ago that collecting food donations in packages as they work their routes might put them in jeopardy.
"Some of the guys were thinking maybe someone would try to hide a device inside a package," said mail carrier Jim Cassano. "It's a shame."
Mail carriers across the country will participate in tomorrow's food drive, which is sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, a postal workers' union. Spot checks indicate that other mail carriers in Chester County and Montgomery County post offices plan to participate.
Acting Phoenixville Postmaster Al Testa said the mail carriers' position was understandable.
"It's not their fault," Testa said. "They've been good soldiers all along."
Officials at the Phoenixville Area Community Services said they also saw the logic in the decision.
"I understand completely," Gould said. "Our first thought was: What are we going to do now? But I can certainly understand their point of view. Safety comes first."
Gould said among those rallying to support the food drive were members of the Phoenixville Chamber of Commerce, a local McDonald's, area churches, and individuals.
The Phoenixville mail carriers have been involved with the drive at least five years, Cassano said.
The carriers' decision not to participate is another indication of how the Phoenixville area continues to be affected by 13 real and fake bombs - and scores of bomb scares - that have hit the area along the border of Chester and Montgomery Counties since last March.
Police said they believed at least some of the incidents were related because many had occurred along a narrow strip of land on the Route 23 corridor.
Between January and March, a dozen bomb scares in the area rattled residents. The last real bomb was discovered on Feb. 11 in East Vincent, Chester County.
