Saturday, May 13, marks the 31st anniversary of one of America’s great days of giving; the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food drive.
Letter carriers walk through the community every day, often coming face to face with the sad reality for too many, hunger.
So, each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect non-perishable food donations from our customers. These donations go directly to local food pantries to provide food to people in the Princeton area who need our help.
Over the course of its 30-year history, the drive has collected well over 1.82 billion pound of food, thanks to the postal service universal delivery network that spans the entire nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands.
In a past postal drive, the Princeton area donated 31,000 pounds of food for the Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
The need for food donations is great. Currently, more than 42 million Americans are unsure of where their next meal is coming from.
More than twelve millions are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. Nearly 5.2 million seniors over the age of 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help.
Our food drive’s timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.
Participating in this year’s Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger Drive is simple. Carriers will be leaving a postcard with a plastic bag in your mail. Just leave a non-perishable food donation in the bag by your mailbox on Saturday, May 13 and your letter carrier will do the rest. Please help us in our fight to end hunger, as we celebrate our 31st anniversary year in America’s great day of giving.
- Princeton and Surrounding Area Letter Carriers and Vanessa Hoffeditz of the Bureau County Food Pantry Manager.