The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) National Food Drive is the outgrowth of a tradition of community service exhibited by members of the letter carriers union over the years. These carriers, who go into neighborhoods in every town 6 days a week, have always been involved when something needed to be done — whether it be collecting funds for a charity like the Muscular Dystrophy Association; watching over the elderly through the Carrier Alert Program; assisting the American Red Cross during time of disaster; or rescuing victims of fires, crime, and other mishaps.
For many years, a number of branches had collected food for the needy as part of their community service effort. Discussions were held by the NALC, U.S. Postal Service®, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Community Services Department to explore a coordinated effort. A pilot drive was held in 10 cities in October 1991, and it proved so successful that work began immediately on making it a nationwide effort.
Input from food banks and pantries suggested that late spring would be the best time, since by then most food banks in the country start running out of donations received during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods.
A revamped drive was organized for May 15, 1993 — the second Saturday in May — with a goal of having at least one NALC branch in each of the 50 states participating. The result was astounding. Over 11 million pounds of food was collected — a 1-day record in the United States — involving over 220 union branches.
From Alaska to Florida and Maine to Hawaii, letter carriers did double duty — delivering mail and picking up donations. It just grew and grew from that point.
Below are the amounts collected along postal routes throughout the years:
From inception, the U.S. Postal Service, AFL-CIO Community Services network, and local United Way organizations have been instrumental in the success of the drive.
Postmaster General John E. Potter has been a longtime supporter of the drive and has asked for the full cooperation and enthusiasm of postal management at all levels — a necessity since the drive occurs “on-the-clock” while mail is being delivered.
The drive has received the backing of AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and many affiliated unions, United Way of America President Brian Gallagher and local United Ways, as well as an extraordinary boost from “Family Circus” cartoonists Bil and Jeff Keane, who provide a special cartoon to promote the drive each year.
The NALC food drive has received a number of accolades over the years, including two Presidential Certificates of Achievement, a special appreciation award in 2003 from America’s Second Harvest food bank network, the annual Humanitarian of the Year award in 2003 from Bon Appétit/Food Network, and the annual World Hunger Year/Chapin Award in 2004.
Drew Von Bergen
National Coordinator
NALC National Food Drive
202-662-2489
vonbergen@nalc.org
Roy Betts
Manager, Community Relations
United States Postal Service
Corporate Communications
202-268-3207
roy.a.betts@usps.gov
— Community Relations,
Corporate Communications, 4-23-09
