What:

The U.S. Postal Service and National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will hold an event to kick off the 25th Annual ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ Food Drive.

Who:

USPS Mill Valley Postmaster Ric Tolero
US Congressman Jared Huffman 2nd District, California
Mill Valley Mayor Jessica Sloan
National Association of Letter Carriers Region 1 Calvin Brookins
California State Association of Letter Carriers Jeff Parr
Community Engagement Manager San Francisco Marin Food Bank Deborah Bellush

When:

Saturday, May 6, 2017
9:00 a.m.

Where:

U.S. Post Office
751 E Blithedale Ave,
Mill Valley, CA 94941

Background:

Did you know that an average of 1 out of every 8 Californians face food insecurity? Over two million children are included in this figure. For the past 25 years, the U.S. postal service and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) have helped keep vital food banks and pantries from going bare during the critical summer months with their Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

The 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.

Each year, groups, businesses, and organizations join the NALC at the local, regional, and national levels, to help grow a campaign of hunger awareness and community action in conducting this one day, record making food drive. The one-day food drive is responsible for collecting over a billion pounds of donated food during its 24-year history. Last year alone a record total of 80 million pounds of non-perishable goods were collected and donated nationwide.

USPS Mill Valley Postmaster Ric Tolero will host a kick-off for this year’s food drive at his post office with support from 2nd District Congressman Jared Huffman, Mayor Jessica Sloan, NALC Branch Region 1 member Calvin Brookins and San Francisco Marin Food Bank representative Deborah Bellush. There will be a keynote presentation and information on how to help raise awareness of the drive and help local Bay Area families.

 The 25th annual ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ food drive is Saturday, May 13, 2017. On that day, residents are asked to leave a bag of non-perishable goods by their mailboxes for their carriers to collect.