The National Association of Letter Carriers, Island Harvest Food Bank and the United States Postal Service (USPS) for the 26th annual Stamp Out Hunger campaign on Saturday.
As the nation’s largest single-day food drive, postal carriers across the country will collect nonperishable food items donated by postal customers. On Long Island, all food collected will help Island Harvest Food Bank to provide supplemental food support to more than 300,000 Long Islanders who are at risk of hunger and food insecurity.
“Participating in Stamp Out Hunger is easy,” says Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest Food Bank. “Simply leave nonperishable food items in a bag next to your mailbox before your regularly scheduled mail delivery on Saturday, May 12, and your USPS letter carrier will do the rest.”
Nonperishable food items needed include canned goods, cereal, pasta, rice, boxed juices and shelf-stable milk (please, no glass items). All food donated on Long Island will help replenish Island Harvest Food Bank’s network of food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency feeding programs in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
“The National Association of Letter Carriers is pleased to partner with Island Harvest Food Bank and support its efforts in addressing the problem of hunger on Long Island,” said Walter Barton, president, NALC Branch 6000. “Our letter carriers often see the need for food assistance firsthand as part of their daily rounds, and we’re happy to help give back to the community, and provide much-needed food support for the thousands of families affected by hunger here in our local communities.”
Since its inception in 1993, Stamp Out Hunger has collected more than 1.5 billion pounds of food nationally to help address the issue of hunger in America. Last year, Stamp Out Hunger netted 71 million pounds of food in 10,000 cities and towns, and in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2017, Long Islanders donated 268,582 pounds of food to Stamp Out Hunger, which supplemented 223,818 meals.
Food insecurity is a state in which people do not get enough food on a consistent basis to provide the nutrients for active and healthy lives.