The U.S. Postal Service in New York City joins with The NYC Bowery Mission, at 227 Bowery, Lower East Side, by hosting a media opportunity event to announce the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) 23rd Annual Food Drive. The Drive starts on Saturday May 9 nationwide. In New York City the Letter Carriers are extending the food drive program from May 9th through May 16th.

The food drive supports the good works that The Bowery Mission is doing for children, women, men, families and the homeless who, if not for the help of the Mission, would otherwise go hungry or without a bed to sleep in each night.

The media opportunity invites reporters, photographers and video journalists to attend the event, having full access to film and interview speakers and agreeable audience members.  Your support of The Bowery Mission and the food drive go hand in hand.

Representatives from the Bowery Mission
Community Leaders
Charlie Heege, NYC President National Association of Letter Carriers
Larry Brotkin, Manager Customer Service Operations, Knickerbocker Station, USPS
Peter Fontana, NYC Customer Relations Coordinator
Jeanne Traugot, Manager, City Harvest Food Sourcing, Food Drives

Thursday, May 7, 2015, 11:00am

Bowery Mission
227 Bowery (Bowery and Prince Street) Lower East Side
New York, NY

The NYC Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive runs 7 days, May 9 to May 16, in post offices throughout all 5 boroughs – Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Jamaica and Flushing.  The food drive program is extended so that customers can bring the non-perishable food to post office lobbies. In the rest of the country, customers leave the food by their mailbox.  In N.Y.C., that is not an option.

Letter Carriers are calling on everyone to participate in the food drive which helps to feed children, women, men and families who would otherwise go hungry. 

For more than 135 years, the steadfast support and assistance provided by The Bowery Mission has made a difference in the struggling lives of tens of thousands of New York's population by making it possible to transform a bleak life existence into a better prospective outcome.

Between May 9 – May 16 New York residents and businesses who are passing by the post office to tend to daily mail business are urged to bring along a few cans or boxes of non-perishable food such as canned fruits, canned soups, canned vegetables and pasta, rice or cereal and deposit into the food donation cardboard cartons located in retail lobbies. 

With the support of fellow neighbors, the food donations that the Letter Carriers collect will be turned over to City Harvest Food Sourcing, Incorporated who redistributes the food to hundreds of emergency food banks and pantries in the boroughs, just like The Bowery Mission.

The need for food donations is great and the timing of the food drive is crucial.  Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the holiday season.  By springtime, many pantries are depleted, and as we enter the summer season supplies are at their lowest.

The Stamp out Hunger Food Drive is an excellent example of how postal employees care about the communities where they work and live. The drive also speaks volumes about the generosity of our fellow Americans.

The NYC Bowery Mission

The NYC Bowery Mission Bowery Mission has served homeless and hungry New Yorkers since 1879, when its neighborhood came to define the term “skid row.” Their children’s programs, called Mont Lawn Camp and Mont Lawn City Camp, serve at-risk youth and began in 1894 by giving the children of recent immigrants the chance to escape the tenements in the summer.

Today, The Bowery Mission is a results-oriented organization that is recognized as one of New York City’s most effective.  Their goal is to be the most effective provider of compassionate care and life transformation for hurting people in New York City.

About City Harvest Resourcing Incorporated

Now serving New York City for more than 30 years, City Harvest (www.CityHarvest.org) is the world's first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry men, women, and children. Throughout the year, City Harvest will collect more than 42 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms. This food is then delivered free of charge to some 600 community food programs throughout New York City by a fleet of trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed more than one million New Yorkers that face hunger each year.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive began in New York City (at the local level) by the Mail Carriers in the late 1980s and went nationwide in 1992.  Since then, almost 2 billion pounds of food has been donated and distributed to those in need.

For more information about the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, ask your letter carrier, contact the local postmaster, or visit http://about.usps.com/corporate-social-responsibility/nalc-food-drive.htm.

Visit www.helpstampouthunger.com or www.facebook.com/StampOutHunger, to learn more and follow the drive at www.twitter.com/StampOutHunger .