Press release: Fighting hunger is as simple as walking to your mailbox. On Saturday, May 14, the National Association of Letter Carriers invites you to help provide assistance to the 1 in 6 Americans who are struggling with hunger. Place non-perishable food items in a bag in or around your mailbox on May 14 and your letter carrier will collect the food and deliver it to local food banks and pantries.
Now in its 19th year, the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive. In 2010, residents of the Pensacola Bay Area donated more than 220,000 pounds of food.
Representatives from local food relief organizations including Manna, Navarre United Methodist Church, St. Vincent de Paul, Bay Area Food Bank, Warrington Emergency Aid and ACTS Ministries say they would have difficulty helping many families in need without the food donated through the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
Last year the Navarre United Methodist Church “We Care” program received 19,000 pounds of food from the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Many families who received the food assistance also needed help with rent and utilities.
Manna Food Pantries is the largest local recipient of food from the Stamp Out Hunger Drive. The agency serves about 30,000 people per year.
“Food distribution in 2010 totaled more than 700,000 pounds,†said Cathy Sowell of Manna. “We usually receive around 100,000 pounds from the Stamp Out Hunger Drive. It is critical to serving the needs of the community through the summer months when children are home from school and family grocery bills rise.â€
Food items needed include canned vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, and soup and dry goods such as rice, pasta, breakfast foods, dry beans, powered milk and peanut butter. Residents are asked to place food donations in a bag and leave in or around the mailbox before mail is delivered on Saturday, May 14.
The National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association conduct the food drive in partnership with Feeding America, Valpak, United States Postal Service, Campbell’s Soup Co., United Way, Uncle Bob’s Storage and the AFL-CIO each year on the second Saturday in May. The drive is held in more than 10,000 communities across America.
For more information visit www.helpstampouthunger.com.