Stamp Out Hunger in Upstate

Carriers Deliver Nation’s Largest Food Drive on Saturday

Letter carriers in 10,000 communities across the country, including Upstate New York’s Albany District, are preparing to collect an estimated 70 million pounds of food this Saturday, May 10. 

"Many families who have been generous in the past are now in need themselves," noted the Postal Service's Albany District Manager, Margaret Weir.  "Our carriers see this change every day and our partners in neighborhood pantries have expressed that the need, right now, is particularly great.

HISTORY: 
It’s been 16 years since the Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) launched a national effort to stock the nation’s food banks and pantries.  The annual collection is an offshoot of a food collection first held by letter carriers in Albany.  That success was replicated across upstate New York then nationwide. 

“The food drive is the hallmark of the union’s tradition of community service,” said NALC President William H. Young,

Over the years, letter carriers have collected more than three-quarters of a billion pounds of food in the world’s largest, single-day charitable food event.    Today, partners in the drive also include the Campbell Soup Company, who printed more than 120 million postcards to be delivered nationwide, and the Harlem Globetrotters.

"This year's collection continues that first class tradition,” Ms. Weir added. “I believe people are generous because the needs, and the results, are close to home. We just provide the special delivery that makes it possible."

HOW TO HELP:
Customers are asked to place bags of non-perishable food items such as canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal next to their mailbox before their letter carrier delivers the mail on Saturday, May 10.

For safety reasons, glass containers will not be accepted. 

“Hunger remains a daily challenge for millions of people in our country. An estimated four percent of Americans—many of them children—are forced to skip meals, eat too little, or even go without food for an entire day,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter. That four percent translates to an estimated 35 million people, including 12 million children, at risk of hunger in America.

Last year’s national drive collected 70.7 million pounds of food, marking the fourth year the collection topped the 70 million pound mark.

Regional postal officials add that postcards delivered this week went to households where collections will be made.

The Postal Service's Albany District reaches more than 3.5 million postal customers served by 720 Post Offices in an area that stretches from the Massachusetts and Canadian borders west to Waterloo and south to Binghamton and the Southern Tier.

SPECIAL NOTES:

DOWNLOAD A JPEG VERSION OF THE DRIVE’S LOGO
http://www.nalc.org/commun/foodrive/images/logo_final.jpg

VISIT THE STAMP OUT HUNGER WEBSITE
http://www.helpstampouthunger.com