NALC AND LA CARES NEWS RELEASE
Note: Event will be canceled in the event of evacuation
After a two-year hiatus because of COVID, the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is back! Saturday, May 14 marks the 30th anniversary of one of America’s great days of giving.
Letter carriers walk through the community every day, often coming face to face with a sad reality for too many, hunger.
So, each 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 LA Cares, our local food pantry, to provide food to people in Los Alamos County who need our help.
The local branch of NALC, #4112, and local Boy and Girl Scouts, along with LA Cares volunteers, will collect, sort and store non-perishable food items that residents will leave at their mailboxes on Saturday, May 14.
Over the course of its 29-year history, the drive has collected well over 1.88 billion pounds of food, thanks to a postal service universal delivery network that spans the entire nation, including Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands.
The need for food donations is great. Currently, more than 42 million Americans are unsure where their next meal is coming from. More than twelve million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. And nearly 5.2 million seniors over age 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help.
Our food drive’s timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.
Participating in this year’s Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is simple. Just leave a non-perishable food donation in a bag by your mailbox on Saturday, May 14, 2022 and your letter carrier (or Boy Scouts) will do the rest. With your help, letter carriers and the US Postal Service have collected over 1.88 billion pounds of food in the United States over the 29 years as a national food drive. Please help us in our fight to end hunger, as we celebrate our 30th anniversary year in America’s great day of giving.
Items needed for LA Cares:
64 oz. plastic bottles of Apple or Cranberry juice
Canned beans
Canned chicken or Tuna
Canned Green Beans
Canned Diced Tomatoes
Canned Mandarin Oranges or pineapple
Canned Mexican Food
Canned Pasta Sauce (no glass jars, please)
Cereal-Raisin Bran, Bran Flakes, Cheerios, Shredded Wheat, or Corn Flakes
Chef Boyardee Pasta
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chunky or Hearty Soup
Cooking Oil
Crackers, Nuts, and Snacks
Ground Coffee
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Salad Dressing
4 lb. Bags White Sugar or 1-2 lb. Brown Sugar
Bars of Soap, Deodorant, Shampoo, Conditioner, Toothpaste, Toothbrushes, Toilet Paper,
Canned Dog and Cat Food
Regular Grocery Size PAPER Bags
ITEMS NOT NEEDED
Flour, Rice, Peanut Butter, Canned Pumpkin, Ramen, Broth, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Hotel-sized Personal Care items, Bottled Water