20TH Annual NALC Stamp Out Hunger Set for May 12

On May 12 postal carriers around the country will collect non-perishable food from customers along their routes and deliver the food to local food banks. The National Association of Letter Carriers’ (NALC) Stamp Out Hunger campaign — the country’s largest one day food drive, will once again replenish food pantries throughout the United States.

To help alert the public to this need, Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, featured the event on 39 million Valpak envelopes distributed across the United States as a donation to support the cause. Other sponsors include Campbell’s Soup Company, USPS, United Way, AARP, Feeding America, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, AFL-CIO and Uncle Bob’s Self-Storage.

In addition, starting today, Valpak is featuring the “What’s important to you” campaign on Facebook and will donate 25 cents for each new Facebook “like” at www.facebook.com/valpak, up to $10,000 to Feeding America, and a chance for Facebook “friends” to win $2,500 to support a project or cause important to them in their communities.

Valpak encourages the public to participate by filling up a bag (or more) with items such as soup, cereal, peanut butter, tuna, and other non-perishable items. Letter carriers will pick up donations left at the mailbox on Saturday, May 12.

The NALC food drive began 20 years ago, noting the severe shortage of food that families encounter in the summer months. Because many children receive food from school programs, families are hit extra hard when children are out of school for the summer. In addition, late spring is often the time when food banks are struggling, as the donations received during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays have long been depleted.

Last year, the NALC Stamp Out Hunger food drive collected 70.2 million pounds in non-perishable donations. The need is even greater this year, as cited by a survey conducted by Feeding America, “more than half (55 percent) of food banks reported that they or the agencies who help distribute the food they provide have had to turn people away in the last year.”

For more information about the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, visit www.helpstampouthunger.com or www.facebook.com/StampOutHunger, and follow the drive at www.twitter.com/StampOutHunger.