Letter carriers to conduct food drive

On Sat., May 13, the National Association of Letter Carriers will conduct its 14th annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive in an effort to help fight hunger across the nation, the largest single-day food drive conducted by any organization. It's made possible by the nation's 240,000 letter carriers who collect nonperishable food items from homes across the country to benefit food banks and pantries in more than 10,000 communities.

Participating in the food drive is easy. Just leave a sturdy bag of nonperishable boxed or canned food items, such as soup, pasta, canned vegetables and fruits, cereal or rice next to your mailbox before your mail delivery on Sat., May 13. Your letter carrier will then collect and deliver your donation to a food bank or pantry in your community.

Stamp Out Hunger is crucial because at this time of year many food banks are depleted just as demand is set to increase in the summer. According to America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest food bank network, 36 million people are food insecure, hungry or at risk of hunger. About one in four individuals in a soup kitchen line is a child.

Last year, with the help of millions of generous Americans, the letter carriers collected more than 71 million pounds of food, bringing the 13-year total to more than 695 million pounds of food.

Campbell Soup Company is hoping to help the letter carriers surpass last year's impressive total by kick-starting the drive with a one-million-pound donation of soup and other food and beverage items.

For more information about the 14th Annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, ask your letter carrier, call the post office or visit www.stampouthunger2006.com.

This story provided by North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.