Hunger on the Rise on Long Island

Long Islanders asked to Donate Food Items for Letter Carriers Food Drive on Saturday May 9

Islandia, NY — As part of the 17th annual effort to collect food for the hungry on Saturday, May 9, 2009, the Long Island National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and partner U.S. Postal Service have joined with United Way of Long Island, Island Harvest, Long Island Cares, Interfaith Nutrition Network and the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, for the largest national one-day food drive.

Last year, as a result of efforts made by Long Island’s letter carriers and food drive partners, the number of food donations increased from 858,000 to 904,500, a 46,500 pound increase. But given the increased requests for food assistance by Long Islanders affected by the economy, this amount is simply not enough. As hunger continues to rise on Long Island, there are now more than 300,000 Long Island residents suffer from hunger. More help is needed from all Long Islanders to help stamp out hunger and feed their neighbors in need.

Long Island’s letter carriers are praised for their extraordinary efforts put forth each year to collect food for soup kitchens, pantries and shelters across Long Island. Last year, the 904,500 pounds of food donated by Long Islanders supplemented hundreds of thousands of meals, bringing the total contributions of food since 1995 to more than 16.5 million pounds.

“The one-day food drive is a great statement of trust between the public and all of the letter carriers, postal workers, volunteers and emergency food program representatives,” said Walter Barton, president of Branch 6000, National Association of Letter Carriers. “We are successful because we understand the need, and we are committed to helping Long Islanders.”

“Long Island Postal employees take great pride in the yearly food drive,” said Kenneth Hale, Acting District Manager-Executive in Charge, USPS, Long Island District. “Helping our neighbors is a very satisfying experience for all of us.”

“This is an important collaboration that allows us to feed even more Long Islanders by helping local food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters expand their reach to serve more people,” said Teresa Kemp Zielenski, interim president & CEO and Chief Operating Officer of United Way of Long Island. “Every effort Long Islanders can make to help neighbors in need with a donation of food at their mailboxes or at local post offices is greatly appreciated.”

How You Can Help
Donate. Support your neighbors in need and help to “Stamp Out Hunger.” Long Islanders are asked to leave non-perishable, food items on Saturday, May 9 next to their mailboxes for collection by their letter carriers, or bring food donations to their local post offices.

Volunteer. Letter carriers collect nearly one million pounds of food from homes across Long Island. This food is then brought to a warehouse to be weighed, sorted, packed and shipped to fill local soup kitchens, pantries and shelters. This task is a huge undertaking. As many volunteers as possible are needed on May 9 and from May 11 to 14. For information on how you can help or how to volunteer, visit www.stampouthungerli.com or call Island Harvest 516.294.8528 or Long Island Cares at 631.582.FOOD.

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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.