by James Parks, May 5, 2008

On Saturday, May 10, the day before Mother’s Day, you can help stamp out hunger with a few easy steps: Collect some nonperishable food items. Go to your mailbox and drop them off outside. That’s it. Your letter carrier will pick up your donation as part of the 16th annual food drive sponsored by the Letter Carriers (NALC).

Donations will be collected in more than 10,000 communities and distributed to food banks, pantries and shelters in your local area. Since 1993, the NALC food drive has collected 836.2 million pounds of food to help feed hungry families. 

In 2007, the drive delivered 70.7 million pounds of nonperishable items donated by patrons to local food organizations—the fourth consecutive year the total surpassed 70 million pounds.

The annual food drive comes at a critical time for many families relying on school meal programs to make sure their children receive proper nutrition. With schools soon letting out for the summer, those meal programs will be suspended until September.

NALC President William Young notes: 

The challenge this year is especially daunting. All signs point to a deepening recession, and with gasoline prices flirting with $4 a gallon, more and more families—including those of carriers—are looking everywhere for ways to save money. This economic squeeze comes while 35 million Americans are experiencing what the federal government refers to as “very low food security,” a euphemistic way of saying people are either already going hungry or are worried about where their next meal will come from.

The need is very great, with many, many food pantries reporting record numbers of men, women and children seeking assistance. And it will only get worse if our economy continues to decline.

Be sure to set your non-perishable items—such as canned meat, tuna, soup, cereals, pasta and rice—in a bag by your mailbox before your carrier arrives Saturday. 

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