LOUISVILLE, KY — The U.S. Postal Service will welcome its newest Village Post Office (VPO) on Wednesday, Sept. 30. 2015 in Louisville.

The latest VPO is located at The Hillebrand Market, 1235 S. Third St., Louisville, KY 40203, where a ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 12:00 p.m. The new VPO will operate in conjunction with store business hours.

The Louisville VPO is another opportunity to make our services and products more readily available to customers with convenient hours. VPOs are operated by local businesses and provide a specific range of services and products such as First-Class postage stamps and Priority Mail products. VPOs also accept mail.

The Postal Service unveiled the VPO concept in Summer 2011 for consideration in communities where there is no existing Post Office, where the Post Office will have reduced hours or where there’s a need for additional postal services in areas of a larger city. VPOs were established in response to the changing mailing needs of the American consumer as more and more customers demand easier, more convenient access to postal products and services where conducting business in their communities.

VPOs are designed for non-Postal Service establishments and are a throwback to Post Offices of old where local shops housed them and patrons would do one-stop shopping and postal services under the same roof. There are over 80 VPOs in the Kentuckiana District located in a variety of locations including grocery, hardware and convenient stores, gas stations, a bait and tackle store, and a trophy engraving shop.

The Postal Service acknowledges the contributions of store owner Shelly Rigney Bacon who helped to make the Louisville VPO possible.

Business establishments interested in applying for a contract with the Postal Service to start a Village Post Office in their local community should contact: vpo.inquiry@usps.gov.

More information about the Village Post Office initiative is available on www.usps.com at http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/welcome.htm.

The Postal Service does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses; it relies entirely on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

The Kentuckiana District serves ZIP Codes 400-409, 411-427 in Kentucky and 471, 476-477 in southern Indiana.

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