Today is the Postal Carrier’s Annual Food Drive
Wake up, Road Trips Foodies, and get your food drive donation out to your mailbox.
Today — Saturday, May 10, 2014 — is the 22nd annual food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). Letter carriers will collect non-perishable food donations TODAY as they deliver mail along their postal routes.
This is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, and it is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.
Last year, letter carriers collected 74.4 million pounds of food donations along their postal routes, the second-highest amount since the NALC’s food drive began in 1992.
“The Postal Service’s universal network, reaching 151 million addresses six days a week, makes it possible for us to provide this critically needed assistance,” NALC food drive coordinator Pam Donato said.
As they deliver mail today, the nation’s 175,000 letter carriers will collect the donations that residents leave near their mail boxes. People are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, canned meats and fish, pasta, rice or cereal next to their mailbox before the regular mail delivery today.
Carriers will take the food to local food banks, pantries or shelters.
Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country’s oldest labor unions. It represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers.
