‘Stamp Out Hunger!’

Letter carriers and United Way team up for nation’s largest one-day food drive.

Letter carriers nationwide will be picking up more than just mail next Saturday.

The annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) “Stamp Out Hunger!” food drive is slated for Saturday, May 9.

The nation’s largest one-day food drive takes place the second Saturday of each May and millions of pounds of food could be collected during this year’s event.

“It’s one of the best ways to collect food,” United Way of Kitsap County Campaign Director Carl Borg said.

United Way is one of several sponsors of “Stamp Out Hunger!” and Borg said the organization has been involved with the food drive since its inception in 1993.

“It’s been a historical thing that United Way has supported over the years,” he said.

Borg said letter carriers all over the Kitsap Peninsula will collect food donations May 9 and distribute the goods to local food banks. He said not many food drives are held after the holidays and more children will no longer have the benefit of school lunch programs during the summer.

“It usually keeps (food banks) going through the summer,” Borg said.

Borg said United Way of Kitsap County helped round up bags to be used for this year’s food drive. Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program sponsored this year’s bags.

Letter carriers will distribute 180,000 bags to residents next week and people can fill up those bags with nonperishable food items, like canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal, and leave them in or near their mailboxes Saturday, May 9 to be collected and distributed to food banks.

“It’s just another way to help the local food banks,” Borg said.

NALC’s “Stamp Out Hunger!” food drive has collected more than 909 million pounds of food nationwide since its inception. Last year, letter carriers across the country collected a record total of more than 73.1 million pounds of food during the one-day event.

“Hopefully everybody participates this year and fills the bags with food,” Borg said.

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