USPS Gears Up for Annual National Association of Letter Carriers’ Food Drive

Throughout the state and across the entire country, over 175,000 mail carriers will lead the United States Postal Service’s annual “Stamp Out Hunger” National Association of Letter Carriers’ Food Drive through the collection of food donations on Saturday, May 14.

The event will be the 24^th annual collection drive and is the largest one-day effort in the nation in combating hunger in communities, providing support to local food banks.

In 2015, USPS Hawai’i officials say over 63,000 pounds of food was collected on the Big Island, with the Hilo Post Office leading the way with 34,347 pounds of food collected.

Across the entire state, Hawai’i carriers collected over 533,000 pounds of food, equal to 266 tons.

Nationally, 70 million pounds of food was collected and over 1.4 billion pounds has been collected in the campaigns first 23 years.

Residents are invited to place non-perishable food items next to their mailbox for pickup on May 14 before their usual mail pickup time. Mail carriers will transport the donations back to the Post Office, where employees and volunteers will sort the food and deliver it to their nearest community food banks.

Post Offices that do not have residential delivery will collect items during the week leading up to May 14.

“The NALC Food Drive is a big help because it always results in a lot of canned protein items, which are our ‘Most Wanted’ items.” said Stan Markle, Hawai’i Foodbank Director of Product Donations.

Items that are most desired include canned meat or tuna, canned meals such as chili, stew or spaghetti, canned soups, and canned fruits and vegetables.

“Last year, we collected more than 266 tons of food in our statewide food drive,” said Adele Yoshikawa, Pearl City Carrier and NALC Food Drive Spokesperson. “Our goal in Hawai’i is to top last year’s totals, but we’ll be happy to collect any amount of food. We ask that our customers, friends, and families help us ‘Stamp Out Hunger’ by supporting this drive.

“This annual food drive demonstrates how the Postal Service goes beyond just delivering the mail to helping those in our communities who are less fortunate.”