Largest single-day food drive to support families at risk of
hunger to take place across the Bay Area and the nation on Saturday, May 11
On Saturday, May 11, people from across the
country will partner with their letter carriers to help “Stamp Out Hunger.” Now
in its 21st year, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the largest
single-day effort to combat hunger in America and the largest single-day food
drive for food banks in the Bay Area.
To participate,
residents are asked to place a sturdy bag of non-perishable food items like
peanut butter, pasta, rice, low-sugar cereal, and canned foods such as tuna,
meat, stew, soup, and vegetables, by their mailbox before their mail is
delivered on Saturday, May 11. Letter carriers will collect the food items and
deliver them to their local food bank to then be distributed to the community
to help those at risk of hunger.
“As Letter Carriers,
we’re out on the streets every day, meeting our neighbors, and have even become
a part of many families in the communities we serve,” said Anthony Lowe,
Alameda County’s NALC Food Drive coordinator. “But we also see who’s struggling
– and unfortunately those numbers are growing. This drive means a lot to the
letter carriers, personally, to be able to make a difference in our neighbors’
lives during this time. We thank the community for all of their support to make
this drive so successful.”
Last year, the Bay
Area Stamp Out Hunger food drive collected more than 835,000 pounds of food for those
in need. In 2012, drive organizers across the country collected more than 70
million pounds of total food donations for the ninth consecutive year.
Despite the generosity
of millions of Americans who have supported the letter carriers' food drive in
previous years, the need for food assistance still exists for many families.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual study measuring food
security in the United States, more than 50 million Americans, including nearly
17 million children, are struggling with hunger.
“Bay Area food banks
serve over 600,000 people each month, and need typically spikes during the
summer when low-income families who rely on free- and reduced-priced school
meals struggle to bridge the gap during school break,” said Suzan Bateson,
executive director of Alameda County Community Food Bank. “Thanks to the
generous support of the community during the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, we
are able to better ensure our neighbors have the food and support they need
during this difficult time.”
Learn More About the
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive: http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/
About Bay Area Food
Banks
Bay Area Food Banks is
a collaboration of eight local food banks serving northern California counties.
Collectively they serve 600,000 adults, seniors and children each month who are
in need through more than 1,500 food pantries, children’s programs, shelters,
soup kitchens, residential programs, and other emergency food providers.
For comment or to visit your local Food Bank on May 11, please contact the appropriate food bank representative below.
Bay Area Food Banks -
Media Contacts
Alameda County
Community Food Bank
(510) 684-8655
Food Bank of Contra
Costa and Solano
Lisa Sherrill - lsherrill@foodbankccs.org
(925) 408-7655
Redwood Empire Food
Bank (Sonoma County)
Lee Bickley - lbickley@refb.org
(707) 523-7900, ext. 115
San Francisco Food
Bank
Blain Johnson - bjohnson@sffb.org
(512)
487-2583
Second Harvest Food
Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
Caitlin Kerk - ckerk@shfb.org
(408) 858-9208
