Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive scheduled for Saturday, May 11
This Saturday, May 11, U.S. Postal Service letter carriers will collect donations of canned food and other non-perishable items from people's doorsteps during the 2024 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
For more than 30 years, the National Association of Letter Carriers has spearheaded the effort as a way to encourage local mail delivery customers to contribute bags of food that can be delivered to food banks and pantries nationwide. Since it officially started in 1993, the drive has grown to encompass 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam, with tens of millions of pounds of food collected in a single day.
"Letter carriers in the community see firsthand who needs help and who benefits from food donations, so this is one way to give back to the community and do what we can to stamp out hunger," said Juan Munoz, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Branch 1259.
Food insecurity and hunger is prevalent across the U.S. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, 12.8% of U.S. households, or 17 million people, were food insecure in 2022, defined as facing uncertainty about having or being able to acquire enough food at some point during the year, or having enough food to meet the needs of all family members due to insufficient money or resources.
ERS data also shows Texas as the state with the second-highest rate of food insecurity in the U.S., at 16%, and that it is among the top 10 states where people face very low food security resulting in people self-reporting that they do not have enough eat. One in 8 people in Texas and one in five children is the Coastal Bend face hunger, according to the Coastal Bend Food Bank. Access to healthy food sources varies wildly by neighborhoods where people live.
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is a great opportunity for people of all ages, incomes and backgrounds to contribute canned goods, pasta or cereal to their local pantry or food bank to be distributed throughout the community at a time of year when food supplies at these agencies are running low, Munoz said.
To participate in the drive, leave a donation of non-perishable food in a bag near the mailbox or on the doorstep at the time that letter carriers typically deliver mail. While Saturday is the main day for donations, NALC will also pick up donations along their route the following day for truck drivers to haul throughout the week. Donations can also be dropped off at the post office.
Postal Service workers will also support the food drive by delivering postcards and promotional bags in advance of the pick-up scheduled for May 11.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive scheduled for Saturday, May 11
