May 13 marks the 31st anniversary of one of America’s great days of giving — the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food drive.
Letter carriers walk through the community every day, often coming face to face with a sad reality for too many: hunger.
So, each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect nonperishable food donations from our customers. These donations go directly to local food pantries to provide food to people in Alaska who need our help.
Over the course of its 30-year history, the drive has collected well over 1.88 billion pounds of food, thanks to a postal service universal delivery network that spans the entire nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The need for food donations is great. Currently, more than 42 million Americans are unsure where their next meal is coming from. More than twelve million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. And nearly 5.2 million seniors over age 60 are food-insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help.
Our food drive’s timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.
Participating in this year’s Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is simple. Just leave a nonperishable food donation in a bag by your mailbox Saturday, May 13th and your letter carrier will do the rest. With your help, letter carriers and the US Postal Service have collected over 1.88 billion pounds of food in the United States over 30 years as a national food drive. Please help us in our fight to end hunger, as we celebrate our 31th anniversary year in America’s great day of giving.
— Tommy Devros
President, NALC Branch 4319
Anchorage
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