Print

March 1, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Yvette Singh
Ph: (410) 347-4493
Freda Sauter
Ph: (410) 347-4322
freda.g.sauter@usps.gov
Website: www.usps.gov

Harvest for the Hungry Food Drive

BALTIMORE, MD — The 18th annual Harvest for the Hungry Food Drive, the biggest food drive in the State of Maryland, kicks off on Friday, March 2 at Helping Up Mission, 1017 E Baltimore Street at 11:00 a.m. Baltimore Postmaster Ridenour will be joined by former Governor William Donald Schaefer, City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blank, and Harvest for the Hungry founder Larry Adam, NALC, APWU, Mailhandlers Union and postal employees. “The drive is a wonderful occasion for us to join forces to collect food and distribute to community food banks,” said Ridenour.

Letter carriers across Maryland will begin collecting non-perishable food items donated by customers beginning Saturday March 3 through Saturday March 10. Customers are encouraged to leave donations of non-perishable items in specially marked containers in post office lobbies or donations can be left by mailboxes for their letter carrier to pick up. Approximately 45,000 people rely on the United States Postal to collect food supplies from the community to help with those in need.

The Harvest for the Hungry Food Drive originally began with a small group of postal employees in the city of Baltimore, and a few dedicated community volunteers. Today, it has grown to become one of the biggest charitable events in the state, and is collaboration between the United States Postal Service and The Boy Scouts of American.

# # #

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.