Earlier this spring, thousands of letter carriers worked with volunteers across the U.S. to help millions of American families through the 25th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
Stamp Out Hunger, which is organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), is the largest single-day food drive in the U.S. The event has collected more than 680 million kilograms of food across the U.S. in its 25 years.
“At least six days a week, letter carriers see firsthand the needs of the communities they work in, and we’re privileged to be able to help those in need while leading an effort that brings out the best in so many Americans,” said NALC President Fredric Rolando in the July issue of the Postal Record, NALC’s monthly magazine.
This year’s food drive brought in more than 32.2 million kilograms of non-perishable food collected by letter carriers and delivered to community food banks, pantries and shelters.
MAKING A DENT
Heather Olson, director of corporate partnerships for Second Harvest Heartland in Minnesota, said one in 10 people in the state—more than half a million people—experience hunger because of poverty.
“Today makes a huge dent,” she told the Star Tribune this May.
STAMP OUT HUNGER SHEET
This March, the NALC joined the American Philatelic Society (APS) to unveil a personalized postage sheet marking the 25th anniversary of the Stamp Out Hunger food drive. The souvenir sheet features some of the iconic Stamp Out Hunger campaign artwork, which was designed by artists Bil and Jeff Keane, of Family Circus comic strip fame.
The personalized souvenir sheet—printed by Photo Stamps—was issued March 4 at AmeriStamp Expo in Reno, Nevada.
NEXT YEAR’S FOOD DRIVE
According to this month’s Postal Record, NALC is already hard at work preparing the 26th annual NALC National Food Drive, which is slated to take place May 14—as always, the second Saturday in May.
For more information, visit nalc.org.