TENNESSEE DISTRICT – Post Offices throughout Tennessee and northern Georgia are asking for the community’s support on May 9th as they join America’s letter carriers and Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive. Hosted each year by the National Association of Letter Carriers, Stamp Out Hunger is the largest single-day food drive in the country. The event helps to support local food banks and the one in six Americans who struggle with hunger.
Residents can join the Postal Service and letter carriers and support community members who struggle with hunger by simply collecting non-perishable food items and leaving them in a sturdy bag near their mailboxes on May 9th. A letter carrier will collect the donations and deliver them to local food banks and pantries. Items will then be distributed to those facing hunger in area communities.
“Stamp Out Hunger is like no other food drive. It allows every community across the country to collectively come together on one day to do their part to fight hunger. We are so grateful to community members who donate non-perishable items and for the letter carriers who collect each bag to help fight hunger in the Tennessee District,” said District Manager David Dillman.
Feeding America’s recently released Map the Meal Gap 2015study allows us to learn more about hunger at the local community level. By understanding the population in need, communities can better identify strategies for reaching the people who most need food assistance. Stamp Out Hunger is the opportune time for the public to support neighbors who struggle with hunger.
"Hunger affects every community in the country,” said Fredric Rolando, NALC president. “At least six days a week, our letter carriers are a local touch point in communities everywhere and we are thrilled to be able to support our neighbors in need through the Stamp Out Hunger food drive.”
The Stamp Out Hunger food drive was created in 1993 by the National Association of Letter Carriers to encourage communities to come together in an effort to stock the shelves of food banks and pantries nationwide. The event is held on the second Saturday of May each year. For 23 years, the Postal Service and local letter carriers have worked together to contribute to the national food drive, which has collected over 1 billion pounds of food over its history.
The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is held in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Last year, letter carriers collected over 70 million pounds of food donations to be donated to their local food bank and pantries.
The United States Postal Service, AFL-CIO, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, United Way, Valassis and Valpak are all supporting this year’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
About National Association of Letter Carriers
The 280,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country's oldest labor unions.
The Tennessee District serves ZIP Codes 370-374, 376-385 in Tennessee and 307 in northern Georgia.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
# # #
Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm. A complete list of the holiday shipping deadlines can be found at usps.com/holidaynews.
For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/usps), Instagram (instagram.com/uspostalservice), Pinterest (pinterest.com/uspsstamps), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/usps), subscribe to our channel on YouTube (youtube.com/usps), like us on Facebook (facebook.com/usps) and view our Postal Postsblog (uspsblog.com).
For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.
