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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2009
Media Contact: James T. Wigdel
415-550-5718
415-205-4708
jwigdel@usps.gov

usps.com/news

Release No. SF09-027

U.S. Postal Service Letter Carriers Stamping Out Hunger!

State Senator Leland Yee, and Assemblymen Fiona Ma and Jerry Hill to Join
National Association of Letter Carriers at Food Drive Kick-off

SAN MATEO, CA — On the second Saturday in May — May 9, 2009 – U.S. Postal Service letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America will deliver much more than mail when they walk and drive along their postal routes. They also will collect the goodness and compassion of their postal customers participating in the 17th annual NALC Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive – the largest one-day food drive in the nation and probably the world.

To kick off this year’s Peninsula and San Francisco food drive, the San Mateo Post Office, 1630 S Delaware St., San Mateo, is hosting an event on Thursday, May 7th beginning at 3:30 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to come out and support this free event.

“We’re very fortunate to have the support our carriers, the community, and our representatives in city and state government for this important event,” said John Beaumont, president, Calif. State Association of Letter Carriers. “Given the economy, the food banks are reporting higher demand for their services, so our goal is to once again break the record for food collections.”

Joining Beaumont for the kick-off event will be: State Senator Leland Yee, Assemblywomen Fiona Ma and Assemblymen Jerry Hill along with Linda Asbury of the Second Harvest Food Bank.

In 2008, the drive collected 73.1 million pounds of food for the needy from postal customers; almost 160,000 pounds in the San Francisco Bay Area. That brought the total for the first 16 years to 909 million pounds.

Participating in the food drive is easy. Just leave non-perishable foods, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, or cereal in a sturdy bag next to your mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 9th. Food donations can also be dropped off at your local Post Office.

Some 35.5 million people face hunger every day in America, including more than 12 million children. This drive is one way people can help those right in their own city or town who need help.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.