Postal customers & community asked to give to letter carriers food drive for the hungry on Sat., May 9th

National Association of Letter Carriers
Stamp Out Hunger
Food Drive

The Las Vegas Post Office asks postal customers “to help the hungry” and donate to the annual National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive across America on Sat., May 9th. All the food collected goes to local community food banks which provide meals for the needy throughout the year.

Postal customers wishing to donate food items should put them in a plastic bag and leave the bag of food items by your mailbox before mail delivery on Saturday, May 9. They may also bring them to any Goodwill location before Saturday.

Food items should be non-perishable such as dried, canned and packaged products. Items most needed by food banks are canned meats, soup, fruits and vegetables; and packaged non-perishables with lots of protein/carbohydrates such as pasta, cereal, powdered milk and vegetables. According to food bank experts, every 1.3 lbs. of donated food equates to one meal

“With the poor economy and the recession, many more people are hungry and struggling to feed their families. The food drive is a great opportunity for us all to give something so important to those who most need it,” said Postmaster Yul Melonson.

In 2008, letter carriers and Post Offices collected a record 73.1 million pounds of food nationwide to support the hungry.

The Las Vegas Post Office and letter carriers from area Branch NALC offices collected 490,000 lbs. of food for the hungry last year. State of Nevada letter carriers and Post Offices collected 756,752 lbs. of food last year.

“Our letter carriers and volunteers are looking to collect a record amount of food on May 9h. I know we can again count on the tremendous generosity of our Las Vegas postal customers to help feed the hungry,” said Glenn Norton, President of National Association of Letter Carriers Local 2502.

This is the 17th year of the annual postal food drive which started in 1993. Nearly a billion pounds of food have been collected by letter carriers and Post Offices over the years to feed America’s hungry. A total of 10,000 communities and Post Offices in all 50 states are participating this year

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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.