SACRAMENTO--The National Association of Letter Carriers will conduct its 25th annual national food drive on Saturday, May 13. The Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive, the country’s largest single-day food drive, provides residents with an easy way to donate food to those in need in your community.
People are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods such as canned soup, canned vegetables, canned meats and fish, pasta, peanut butter, rice or cereal next to their mailbox before the delivery of mail on Saturday. Letter carriers will collect these donations that day as they deliver mail.
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive and is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.
With the economic struggles many Americans face, the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive is as critical as ever. Not only do millions of Americans go hungry, organizations that help them are in need of replenishments. Hunger affects about 50 million people around the country, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans. Pantry shelves filled up through winter-holiday generosity often are bare by late spring. And, with most school meal programs suspended during summer months, millions of children must find alternate sources of nutrition.
Since the first national Food Drive in 1993, the Letter Carriers’ food drive has collected more than 1.5 billion pounds of food; last year’s drive brought in a record 80 million pounds of food.
If you have questions about whether there is a drive in your area, ask your letter carrier, local post office, or go to their website, Facebook page or Twitter page.