05/10/12 On Saturday, May 12, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) conduct their 20th annual food drive, Stamp Out Hunger across America.
The food drive has grown from a regional to a national effort that provides assistance to the millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table.
The Stamp Out Hunger food drive, held on the second Saturday in May, has become the nation’s largest single-day food drive benefitting Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
In 2011, generous Americans donated 70.2 million pounds of food, which marked the eighth consecutive year that at least 70 million pounds were collected by letter carriers.
Locally, letter carriers in Plymouth will gather food this Saturday and distribute it to the Neighborhood Center Food Pantry, The Bread of Life Food Pantry, and the Food Pantry at the House of the Lord. Food items gathered in the rural LaPaz area will be given to the County Line Church.
Last year letter carries out of the Plymouth Post Office were able to gather over 9,000 pounds of non-perishable food items.
It’s so easy to make a donation: simply leave the bag of non-perishable food by your mailbox to help neighbors in need. That’s all it takes.
The need for food assistance continues to exist in every community in America, no
matter how rich or poor. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual study
measuring food security in the United States, the number of Americans living in food insecure homes reached nearly 49 million in 2011. Perhaps most alarming is the fact that more than 16 million children in America – more than 1 in 5 – are faced with the prospect of hunger.
Campbell Soup Company and its partners have produced post cards and shopping bags that will be delivered to Plymouth residential customers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ideas of non-perishable foods being collected include canned soups, fruits and vegetables, pastas and rice, canned meats, cereal and granola bars, boxed meals, and spaghetti sauce.
