Largest single-day food drive to support families at risk of
hunger to take place across the Bay Area on Saturday, May 10
On Saturday, May 10, people from across the
country will partner with their letter carriers to help “Stamp Out Hunger.” Now
in its 22nd 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 to
support Bay Area Food Banks, which serve over 600,000 children, adults and
seniors each month.
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 10. Letter carriers will collect the food items and
deliver them to their local food bank to then be distributed to those at risk
of hunger in their community.
“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 800,000 pounds of food for
those in need. In 2013, drive organizers across the country collected more
than 70 million pounds of total food donations for the tenth 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, nearly 49 million Americans, including more than
16 million children, are struggling with hunger. The skyrocketing cost of
living has left even more Bay Area families struggling, while new issues like
California’s drought are adding to food bank concerns.
“Food banks are already
stretched heading into a high-need time of year,” said Suzan Bateson, executive
director of Alameda County Community Food Bank. “Summer break is difficult for families
relying on free- and reduced-priced school meals. They struggle to bridge the
meal gap. The generous support from Stamp Out Hunger is critical to ensuring
our neighbors have the food they need during this difficult time.”
About Bay Area Food
Banks
Bay Area Food Banks is
a collaboration of seven local food banks serving northern California counties.
Collectively they serve 700,000 adults, seniors and children each month through
nearly 1,600 food pantries, children’s programs, shelters, soup kitchens,
residential programs, and other emergency food providers. Learn more at www.bayareahunger.org.
For comment or to visit your local Food Bank on May 10, 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
(925) 408-7655
Redwood Empire Food
Bank (Sonoma County)
(707) 523-7900, ext. 15
San Francisco Food
Bank
415-282-1900 ext. 270
Second Harvest Food
Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
(408) 858-9208
