The 16th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is scheduled for Saturday, May 10. Letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America, aided by rural carriers and other volunteers, will collect non-perishable food items donated by customers. The event is the largest annual 1-day food drive in the world.
The Campbell Soup Company and the U.S. Postal Service® are major supporters of the drive. The success is in its simplicity. All citizens need to do is place their donated items next to their mailbox before their letter carrier delivers the mail Saturday, May 10. The carriers do the rest, taking the items back to their stations, where they will be sorted and delivered to area food banks or pantries. In some areas of New York City and Chicago without mailbox collections, donors are asked to take their contributions to their local participating Post Office™, but will have an option of virtual food drives on the Internet to assist with collections for local food banks.
An estimated 35 million people face hunger every day in America including more than 9 million children. In 2007, the drive collected more than 70 million pounds of food — and more than three quarters of a billion pounds since its inception 16 years ago. The drive is one way to help stamp out hunger.
— Strategic Communications and Outreach,
Public Affairs and Communications, 4-24-08
