Are you ready to help Stamp Out Hunger? This Saturday, May 10th you are encouraged to leave a bag of non-perishable food by your mailbox and make a difference right here in your community.
During the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive letter carriers and volunteers will collect bags of healthy, non-perishable donated food people, like you, have set out by their mailboxes. It is easy to donate! Simply fill a grocery bag (or two) with healthy, non-perishable food and leave it near your mailbox the morning of Saturday, May 10 to be picked up. The items most needed are canned proteins, vegetables and fruits, peanut butter, cereal, juice and juice boxes. Donations are delivered to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank to feed hungry Hoosiers. All donations are appreciated but to protect our letter carriers, volunteers, and beneficiaries please do not donate open packages, expired or perishable food, or any goods contained in glass jars.
United Way of Monroe County is proud to work with Hoosier Hills Food Bank, a member agency, and the National Association of Letter Carriers South Central Indiana Branch 828 on the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. This event occurs throughout the U.S. and is the largest, single-day food drive in the nation.
Having adequate nutrition is an essential need and key to building a better life. Locally, 1 in 5 children are at risk of going hungry in Monroe County. Over 4,500 kids live in households that are at risk of hunger. In 2013, Hoosier Hills Food Bank distributed a record of nearly 3.7 million pounds of food to partner agencies in eight counties. This was a 16% increase over the prior year and the need remains high.
This food drive is very important to local pantries and neighbors in need. In the spring, food supplies are typically lower. “We do this in the spring with the goal of collecting enough donations to get agencies through the summer, when food drives are rare,” said retired letter carrier and local Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive coordinator Jerry Sutherlin. “But the past few years what we have collected has been gone by early July. We would love to collect about twice what we have been collecting in order to get through the summer.” As schools let out for the summer, the need for additional food is greater since young students don't have access to free or reduced breakfast and lunch programs.
“This one event represents almost 30% of the total community food drive pounds we receive all year. It’s critical to our ability to keep pace with a very high need and we’re counting on another great year. Our letter carriers do a spectacular job and we’re hoping the community will rise to the challenge again. If every household donated just one bag of food, thousands of children, senior citizens and families would be fed throughout the summer and into the fall,” said Hoosier Hills Food Bank Executive Director Julio Alonso.
Last year, local residents donated 87,483 pounds of food, including 38,410 pounds in Monroe County, during this drive to help neighbors in need. This food drive would not be possible every year without the help of many wonderful volunteers. Hoosier Hills Food Bank is still seeking volunteers to help pick up food on routes that are especially heavy or where carriers deliver on foot. Please contact Katie at volunteer@hhfoodbank.org or 812-334-8374 if you can help.
The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is sponsored locally by the National Association of Letter Carriers South Central Indiana Branch 828 and Hoosier Hills Food Bank with support from United Way of Monroe County, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, U. S. Postal Service, Kroger, Comcast, and the Herald-Times/Hoosier Times.