Islandia, NY – On Saturday, May 9, Long Islanders donated more than 772,200 pounds of food to “Help Stamp Out Hunger” on Long Island as part of the annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive, bringing the food drive total to more than 17.2 million pounds of food collected since 1995.

“The success of the Annual Letter Carrier Food Drive can only be measured by the gratitude and appreciation of the receivers of the generous donations of those who gave and those who volunteered their time,” said Walter Barton President Branch 6000 National Association of Letter Carriers. “Long Island is a special community of caring individuals. Long Island Letter Carriers, Thank you for your support.”

“Long Islanders have once again risen to the challenge of helping neighbors in need. We sincerely appreciate their generosity as well as the efforts of many who served as volunteers,” said Ken Hale, United States Postal Service Long Island District Mgr/Exec in Charge United States Postal Service. “A special thanks to our Letter Carriers for their efforts as well as those of all our employees”.

“Donations collected are critical for local food pantries and soup kitchens to help Long Islanders in need through the summer months,” said Theresa Regnante, President & CEO of United Way of Long Island. “Moving forward, we hope to further grow this effort among our community partners to meet the increased requests for emergency food assistance.”

“This Food Drive is so important. It gives the community an easy way to help their neighbors, enables food pantry’s the opportunity to fill their empty shelves during a very difficult time and it brings awareness to the issue of hunger —right next door. Island Harvest is grateful to the USPS and the NALC for allowing us to be a part of this event.” Said Randi Shubin Dresner, Pres & CEO, Island Harvest.

“The incredible effort put forth by the National Association of Letter Carriers and our local postal workers is extremely significant in assisting organizations like Long Island Cares, Inc. — The Harry Chapin Food Bank provide food and support to more than 260,000 Long Island families in need,” said Paule T. Pachter Executive Director Long Island Cares. “We are very proud to take part in the NALC Food Drive, which is the largest event of its kind on Long Island.”

We are thankful to all Long Islanders for your contributions and to the letter carriers for their tremendous efforts. Collecting such a great amount of food is an incredible achievement.”

The 772,200 pounds of food will supplement hundreds of thousands of meals to the more than 300,000 residents suffering from hunger, lasting for most of the summer months through a network of 780 nonprofit agencies on Long Island who receive food from both Long Island Cares and Island Harvest.

This food drive was coordinated by the NALC, the U.S. Postal Service, United Way of Long Island, Island Harvest, Long Island Cares, Interfaith Nutrition Network and the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

About Hunger on Long Island

Approximately 300,000 Long Island residents—93,000 of them children and 39,000 seniors—turn to soup kitchens, food pantries or shelters for help each year, according to a recent study released by Feeding America. More than two out of every five people who seek help must choose between paying for food and paying their rent, mortgage or utility bills, and more than one out of four must choose between food and medical care. In any given week, emergency food programs on Long Island serve approximately 44,000 people.

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