WASHINGTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The 25th annual food drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), held on Saturday, May 13, collected 75 million pounds, the third-highest total in the event’s history.
Combined with last year’s record of 80.1 million pounds, that makes a two-year total of 155 million pounds – the highest back-to-back total in the drive’s history.
“It’s an honor to be able to help people in need by leading an effort that brings out the best in so many Americans,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said.
Hunger affects about 50 million people around the country, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans.
The Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive is the country’s largest single-day food drive. It is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.
Customers leave their donation of non-perishable goods in paper bags next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail that day. The nation’s 175,000 letter carriers collect the food donations left and distribute them to local food agencies.
The timing is important, with food banks, pantries and shelters running low on donations from the winter-holidays and with summer looming, when most school meal programs are suspended.
Several national partners assisted the NALC in this year’s food drive: the U.S. Postal Service, United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, United Way Worldwide, AARP Foundation, AFL-CIO, Valpak and Valassis.
In the quarter-century since it began, the annual food drive has collected almost 1.6 billion pounds of food.
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The 280,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country’s oldest labor unions.
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SOURCE National Association of Letter Carriers
