Eureka,  CA –  Did you know that an average of 1 out of every 10 Californians face food insecurity? Nearly 1.2 million children are included in this figure.

For three decades the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) has led the charge to help communities in need by collecting goods on the second Saturday of May in neighborhoods across the country. 

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, returns this Saturday, May 13th marking its 31st anniversary and providing residents with an effortless way to donate food to those in need in the community.

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. 

Over the course of its history, this food drive has collected well over 1.82 billion pounds of food, thanks to a postal service universal delivery network that spans the entire nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The need for food donations is great. Currently, more than 35 million Americans are unsure where their next meal is coming from. More than twelve million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. And nearly 5.2 million seniors over age 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help. 

In the days leading up to the food drive, letter carriers will be delivering special bags along with your mail that may be used to make donations. To participate, residents are encouraged to use the special bags, fill them with non-perishable foods and leave the bags next to their mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 13th. Your letter carrier will take care of the rest. The food is sorted, and delivered to an area food bank or pantry, where it is available for needy families. 

Together, we can STAMP OUT HUNGER in our community.

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