On Saturday, May 14, 2015 the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will collect food donations in order to provide assistance to the millions of Americans who are struggling with hunger.  Celebrating its 24th anniversary this year, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, having collected more than one billion pounds of food since its inception as a national food drive in 1993.  The nation’s 180,000 letter carriers will collect food donations left at the mailboxes of generous Americans in more than 10,000 communities and deliver them to food banks and other hunger-relief organizations.

Last year, the National Association of Letter Carriers collected over 71 million pounds of food nationally, feeding an estimated 30 million people. Over the course of its 23-year history, the drive has collected well over one billion pounds of food, thanks to a postal service universal delivery network that spans the entire nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands. Last year cross the South Plains, over 38,000 pounds of food donations were collected by postal workers. This year the goal is to collect at least 50,000 pound of food.

Currently, 1 in 8 people across the south plains are unsure where their next meal is coming from.  They are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school and seniors over age 60, many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help.

This year’s food drive comes at a crucial time; as shelves at the Food Bank are nearly depleted come summertime, when need typically increases. The Stamp Out Hunger food drive helps the food bank enter the summer with food at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.  The South Plains Food Bank receives the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.

“Hunger doesn’t go on vacation,” says David Weaver, SPFB’s Executive Director. “Kids may be on summer vacation but what that means for parents is that they have more meals to provide.  The Letter Carrier’s Food Drive helps the Food Bank to fill empty shelves and lend a hand to struggling families, children and elderly during up-coming summer months.”

Wonder what foods are great to donate to the food drive?  Here are a few non-perishable food items requested by food banks:

  • Cereal
  • Pasta
  • Rice
  • Canned fruits and vegetables
  • Canned meals such as soups, chili, pasta 
  • 100% juice
  • Peanut butter 
  • Pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce
  • Macaroni & cheese
  • Canned protein – tuna, chicken, turkey
  • Beans – canned or dry

How the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Works
Simply leave a non-perishable food donation in a bag by the mailbox on Saturday, May 14, and the Postal carrier will do the rest.  It’s that simple and millions of Americans will be helped.

Learn more at http://www.nalc.org/commun/foodrive/

(News release from the South Plains Food Bank)