Region – Saturday, May 12, letter carriers with the United States Postal Service will host the 20th annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive to collect food donations for those who struggle with hunger. On that day, postal customers are asked to leave food items at, or next to, their mailboxes. Donations are delivered to pantries in communities where they are collected. Glass items cannot be accepted.
“The Postal Service is pleased to continue to support the National Association of Letter Carriers as we enter our 20th year together to help Stamp Out Hunger in America,” said the Postal Service's Connecticut Valley District Manager, Kimberly J. Peters, who oversees postal operations in Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts (from New Bedford to the Berkshires).
The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the nation's largest single-day food drive, having collected more than one billion pounds of non-perishable food since it began in 1992.
“Food collected in a community stays in that community. Our customers know we are delivering where the need is great,” Peters noted. “Many pantries also work with special dietary or family needs, such as feeding small children and infants, elder nutrition and ethnic needs. Donations of baby food, low to no-sodium nutritional drinks and packaged ethnic specialties are welcome.”
Examples of non-perishable items include canned soup; canned meats and fish; canned vegetables, fruits and juices; boxed goods; pasta and rice; and, for the four-footed family members, pet food. Glass containers pose a serious risk to carriers and to pantry volunteers if broken in transit. In addition, spills can contaminate other donations, so no glass, please.
For more information, visit www.helpstampouthunger.com or www.facebook.com/StampOutHunger.
