Five new Village Post Offices (VPOs) opened for business this month.
Two of the new facilities — Sherwood and Manistee, MI — are located in Great Lakes Area. The first VPO in Southwest Area opened in Bigelow, AR. The Eastern Area also has its first VPOs in Lake City, PA, and Shauck, OH.
These openings bring to 16 the number of VPOs. Four new VPOs are scheduled to open before the end of the month. Also, 32 VPOs have been awarded contracts and are waiting for PO Boxes, signage and stamp shipments before they can open.
As of April 23, 267 interested vendors have inquired about becoming VPOs.
The Postal Service introduced the VPO as an expanded access potential replacement for communities either lacking a postal retail facility or affected by postal consolidation efforts. The nation’s first Village Post Office opened last August in Malone, WA.