Letter Carriers celebrate “Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive” anniversary
(Joplin, MO/Pittsburg, KS) – Saturday, May 14th marks the 30th anniversary of the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive.
United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas, along with several national partners, help the letter carriers with the annual event to benefit area food pantries.
Each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect non perishable food donations from postal customers. Over the course of its 29-year history, the drive has collected well over 1.82 billion pounds of food and become the largest single-day food drive in the nation. The food donations collected locally go directly to food pantries in Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas.
“United Way is committed to helping address food insecurity in our communities and happy to support the food drive every year,” said Duane Dreiling, Executive Director of United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas. “The Stamp Out Hunger food drive provides much needed assistance to the thousands of area families struggling to put food on the table and we encourage everyone to participate.”
Local organizations receiving the food donations in Southwest Missouri include Children’s Haven, Lafayette House, Community Support Services of Missouri, Watered Gardens, Souls Harbor, and Crosslines. In Southeast Kansas, the organizations include Wesley House, Safehouse Crisis Center, Christ Community Church, and Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
To participate, residents are encouraged to leave a bag containing non-perishable food items such as canned soup, canned vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, rice, or cereal next to their mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 14. The letter carriers will collect the food donations as they deliver the mail. The food will be sorted and distributed among the area food pantries to help those in need.
The timing of the food drive is also important with food banks, pantries, and shelters depleted or running low on donations from the winter holidays and entering the summer when many meal programs are not available to children in need.
For more information about the NALC Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive, contact your local post office or visit www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive.