(Editor's note: This letter ran as a Letter to the Editor in the 5-3-17 edition of the Kokomo Perspective.) Saturday, May 13 marks the 25th anniversary of one of America’s great days of giving - the National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive. Letter carriers walk through the community every day, often coming face to face with a sad reality for too many, hunger.
Every year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect non-perishable food donations from our customers. These donations go directly to local food pantries to provide for the people in the Kokomo and Howard County.
Last year Letter Carriers collected over 80 million pounds of food nationally, feeding an estimated 64 million people. Over the course of twenty-four years, the drive has collected 1.5 billion pounds of food; recognition goes to the postal service’s Universal Delivery Network, spanning across all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands.
“Too many people in this country are going hungry…We know this to be true because we see it as we deliver to every address in America at least six days a week.” - NALC President Fredric Rolando.
The need for food donations is great. Currently, 49 million Americans, or 1 in 6 of our population, are unsure where their next meal is coming from. 13 of the 49 million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. More than 5 million of this statistic is composed senior citizens who live on fixed incomes, often too embarrassed to reach out for help they desperately need and having to choose between medicine and food.
Our food drives timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the winter holidays. By spring, food pantries are low on resources, and continuing to deplete through the summer; a time when schools are unable to provide free breakfasts and lunches to children in need.
If you wish to participate in this year’s NALC Stamp Out Hunger food drive, please leave a can of non-perishable in a bag by your mailbox on Saturday, May 13th to be picked up by your letter carrier. Please help us in our fight to end hunger, as we celebrate our 25th anniversary year in America’s great day of giving.
Tim Turner
Letter Carrier, NALC,
Local Branch 553
Kokomo
