Mail Carriers’ Food Drive Tops Half-Million Pounds

Hawaii mail carriers collected more than a half-million pounds of food during last month’s “Stamp Out Hunger” drive.

Carriers collected 538,426 pounds of food statewide for the Hawaii Foodbank and its neighbor island affiliates.

That represented an increase of 8% over last year’s total, said Duke Gonzales, a Honolulu spokesman for the US Postal Service.

The Hawaii Foodbank serves about 118,000 people across the state — including 43,000 children — through a network of more than 250 provider agencies.

This year’s collection, which began on Saturday, May 10, was the 22nd annual food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Across the state, the Pearl City Post Office on Oahu collected the most food, 48,799 pounds, followed by Hilo with 33,016 pounds. Carriers from the Wailuku Post Office led Maui with 10,413 pounds and Kapaa Post Office was tops on Kauai with 4,184 pounds.

“The enormous amount of food that was collected this year is the result of a lot of work, energy, and great partnerships,” Mike Kajiwara, director of Product Donations at the Hawaii Foodbank said in a statement.

“The NALC food drive brings in much-needed quality food donations during a crucial time of the year. The various agencies we serve have a lot to be thankful for, as we can now provide more valuable nutrition to those in need for months to come.”

Elsewhere on the Big Island, the Kailua-Kona Post Office collected 16,089 pounds of food followed by Pahoa with 2,878, Waimea with 1,907, Volcano with 1,485 and Waikoloa with 1,478 pounds of food.

The totals included residual collections as of May 22.

Nationwide, 230,000 mail carriers collected 72.5 million pounds of food from some 10,000 cities and towns in every state.

More than a billion pounds of food have been collected since the drive began in 1993.