Stamp Out Hunger: Donations For Nation's Largest Food Drive Collected May 14

Since 1993, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive has helped families in need across America.

The annual event, put on by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is the country's largest food drive.

With the nation still recovering from an economic slump, the demand on food banks has skyrocketed. According to Feeding America, the nonprofit partner of Stamp Out Hunger, their nationwide network is feeding 1 million more people each week than it did in 2006 before the recession hit.

This year, Stamp Out Hunger is taking place May 14. Even if you haven't planned ahead, you can still participate.

Just fill a bag with nonperishable food items and leave it by your mailbox on Saturday. Your local letter carrier will pick up the bag along their daily mail route and take the items to the nearest food pantry.

This year, Nick Cannon is lending his voice to the campaign, encouraging fellow Americans to get involved.

WATCH:

If you can't participate on May 14, you can visit the Feeding America website for more information on how you can donate food items or make a financial contribution in the future.

Comments

[cinemaven]

06:57 PM on 05/15/2011

Great program

I volunteer at our food bank teaching office skills and helping with resume writing and I wish more people would volunteer... it's so rewarding to give your time.
I normally grab staples with each grocery order and toss them into a laundry basket. When it's full, I drop it at the food bank. I normally give at least one basket a month. If tuna or peanut butter is on sale, I buy up 4 or 5.. when toothpaste or feminine hygiene products are cheap, they go into the basket and I always add some cat and dog food and baby supplies. Last week, my local drugstore which is moving to a bigger location put awesome baby thermometers on sale for $1 so I bought them all (18) to donate.
Our food bank also has an amazing program where we go out to all of the schools just before graduation and ask that parents donate suits and dresses. We pick them up a week after grad from every school in our district and now we have a room full of outfits that our kids can shop in. Weddings, funerals and graduations are so hard when you have no access to clothing for growing kids.

[FeralForever]

07:35 PM on 05/15/2011

Wow, cinemaven..you give such excellent pointers. You have a heart as big as the moon. I wish they had programs in my state that were more open to volunteers. Unfortunately most volunteer work is filtered through churches in my area and I don't have any affiliation so I am put at the "bottom" of the list. I was told they'd call me if they needed me.

I tried to donate my sturdy Saturn last year to a local women's shelter and was turned down because of town ordinances. Shocking, since many women are one car away from turning their lives around to get a job and feed their children. I was disgusted. Wish there was a better way.

[natchez]

11:56 AM on 05/15/2011

I happened to catch the article in the local paper while checking on the flood level here in Natchez. I got up early and pulled out all I could from my cupboards (checked the dates first) and left by my front door yesterday. We live in a time where events are unfolding at an unprecedented rate and we need to get back to helping our neighbors and stop this "its all about me mentality".

[misssooshi]

04:08 AM on 05/15/2011

Yet another way in which public workers contribute to America. I applaud them and I put out my bag of canned foods out this morning. I wish it could have been more, I'm looking for a job.

[HotheadPaisen]

03:11 PM on 05/16/2011

every little bit helps...thank you!

[Geelee]

02:58 AM on 05/15/2011

As a retired school social worker I know the need and contribute weekly to the backpack for kids program. with all the mean greedy republicans cutting public education funds, I really worry about the summertime for the children who will no longer have schools open and summer programs for food available at those sites. I was happy to fill my bag today for my carrier to pick up. I also paid twenty five dollars to a local dinner program and received a ticket to the Josh Groban concert. It seems that wonderful young man has several hundred tickets set aside at every concert he has to benefit a Charity in the city in which he performs so the benefitting agency can use them for fundraising. Just another reason to respect Josh Groban...I hope other musicians do the same thing given the many blessings their God given talent gives them often at obscene ticket prices. Yeah, Josh.

[Freedom Rush]

11:59 PM on 05/13/2011

This is my first year participating in the letter carriers food drive, and I have to say, they couldn't have made it any easier. They provided the plastic bag; I just filled it from my pantry, and left it out it out for the letter carrier to take to the food pantry.

Thank you NALC for continuing to demonstrate the generosity of state and federal workers. Charity is a part of their culture year in and year out. Food drives, blood bank drives, and combined charity drives are a part of daily life for all public employees.

[Itsbeenalongday]

10:41 PM on 05/13/2011

The richest country in the world...with millions needing food assistance.

[HotheadPaisen]

12:17 AM on 05/15/2011

did you help today? If not, planning to next year?

[misssooshi]

04:12 AM on 05/15/2011

Did you? If you take a close look, more likely than not he or she did.

[Itsbeenalongday]

09:54 AM on 05/16/2011

I am presently working in Pakistan managing a project to build 37,000 homes for flood affected victims. It is the same sort of work I have been doing since 1999 when I went to Kosovo just after the war. From there I went to Afghanistan the to Aceh after the tsunami then back to Afghanistan and now here. I guess you could say I have been helping for the last twelve years and yes, I will be still doing it next year.

[Charles Milburn]

04:34 PM on 05/12/2011

I thought the Boy Scouts had the largest food drive in America.

[mikerush]

06:47 PM on 05/12/2011

The Letter Carriers Food Drive is the largest single day effort in the country. Over 10,000 communities will be participating in the effort. Last year's collection netted over 77,000,000 pounds of food.

[HotheadPaisen]

12:19 AM on 05/15/2011

We moved about 3 tons of food from just one Post Office today. It was a GREAT day!

[Flying Sparkz1]

04:07 PM on 05/12/2011

End speculation in vital commodities.

[pooka47401]

02:37 PM on 05/12/2011

I give out bags of food every day to those who can not live on the meager amount of food stamps that the federal government provides. Then there are those who are the working poor. They make too much money to receive food assistance but don't have enough money left over from paying their basic necessities to buy food. Expenses such as gas to put in their car so that they can get to work, and paying child care while they work, leaves a family no "extra" money to pay for food or clothing for their children. In Bloomington Indiana, a very small town, we are fortunate to have several food pantries and a Community Kitchen. The Community Kitchen has also expanded to sending "Back Packs" full of food home with the children so that they can eat on weekends. With the cuts to our Safety Nets for the Poor and Elderly, food is needed more than ever. Remember, the Elderly that are living on fixed incomes, don't have enough food to eat either and they are vulnerable to starvation. Any contribution is precious.

[Dave Harrison]

07:00 PM on 05/12/2011

Although, I myself is not religious my wife is, we make sandwiches and deserts for the elderly threw the Catholic church program of "Loaves and Fishes." We also donate to the local food pantry when we can.

[roudy]

04:52 PM on 05/14/2011

I donate food to the local food bank all winter. I call once a week and ask what they need the most, then purchase and deliver as much as I can. I feel that way that 100% of the assistance gets to the folks that need it.

[hynos vinhphuc]

03:33 AM on 05/14/2011

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