Stamp Out Hunger food drive returns Saturday

Special to the Times-Union
·2 min read
BEAM volunteers take in donations collected during the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers. This year's event returns on May 14 after a two-year hiatus.
BEAM volunteers take in donations collected during the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers. This year's event returns on May 14 after a two-year hiatus.

The largest one-day food donation event in the country takes place on Saturday when the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) conducts its 30th annual national food drive. Known as the Stamp Out Hunger campaign, the food drive began in 1983 and each year, helps feed millions of Americans across all 50 states.

Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry (BEAM) is the beneficiary of donated food collected along the Atlantic Beach Post Office letter carrier routes. The traditional food drive is returning this year after a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, and BEAM is in need of donations to help feed local Beaches families.

NALC requests that customers simply leave their donation of nonperishable food items — such as canned soup, canned vegetables, canned meats and fish, pasta, rice or cereal — in a sturdy bag next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday, May 14. Letter carriers will collect these food donations as they deliver mail along their postal routes.

More: BEAM celebrates grand re-opening, expansion of second food pantry location

The timing is important, with food banks, pantries and shelters running low on donations. BEAM is also bracing for an increase in food pantry clients as free and reduced meal programs suspend during the summer months and more families are seeking services due to inflation-related hardships.

"Letter carriers are a part of every neighborhood in the nation," NALC President Fredric Rolando said, "and we see the growing need for food assistance in our communities. On Saturday, May 14, NALC invites everyone to participate in the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Together, we can help stamp out hunger in America."

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive provides residents with an easy way to donate food to those in need. In the 30 years since it began, the food drive has collected about 1.82 billion pounds of food for struggling residents.

To learn more about the drive, ask a letter carrier, contact the local post office or visit the NALC website at https://bit.ly/3M727Os.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Stamp Out Hunger food drive returns this weekend