With Public’s Help, Postal Carriers to Deliver Largest Single-Day Food Drive on May 14

The Stamp Out Hunger food drive will take place
across the Bay Area on Saturday, May 14

On Saturday, May 14, letter carriers nationwide will partner with residents on their delivery routes to help “Stamp Out Hunger.” Now in its 24th 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 835,000 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 14. Letter carriers will collect the food and deliver it to their local food bank to then be distributed to community members who are at risk of hunger.

Last year, the Bay Area Stamp Out Hunger food drive collected more than 725,000 pounds of food for Bay Area Food Banks, the equivalent of about 667,000 meals. In 2015, drive organizers across the country collected more than 71 million pounds of food.  It was the 12th consecutive year that letter carriers have collected more than 70 million pounds of food.

“I look forward to Stamp Out Hunger every year, because as letter carriers we know the community,” said Madeline Dinoso, National Association of Letter Carriers Coordinator and a Bay Area letter carrier for the last 30 years. Dinoso has taken part in every Stamp Out Hunger drive, and consistently reminds residents on her route by putting banners that advertise the drive on her truck.

“We’re helping the whole community, especially children who are in need,” she said.

Summer is high-need time for food banks, as families who rely on free-and reduced-price school lunches are faced with the burden of extra meals that can break already-fragile budgets.

Neil Zarchin, grants coordinator for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano notes, “As a retired Letter Carrier, I understand how much effort goes into the Food Drive. As a Food Bank employee, I understand how empty the shelves are this time of year.”

According to Feeding America, the nation’s network of food banks, 1 in 7 Americans currently rely on assistance from food banks. That ratio is higher in many Bay Area communities, where data from the Economic Policy Institute estimates an income of $81,621 is needed for a family of four just to meet basic needs in the Oakland/Fremont Metro area, and $91,785 in San Francisco.

“The high cost of living in our area makes it difficult if not impossible for families to get by, especially during the summer,” said Suzan Bateson, executive director of Alameda County Community Food Bank. “The generous support from Stamp Out Hunger helps stock our shelves so our neighbors have the heathy food they need year round.”

Learn More About the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive: NALC.org

About Bay Area Food Banks

Bay Area Food Banks is a collaboration of seven local food banks serving northern California counties. Collectively they serve 835,000 adults, seniors and children each month through nearly 1,575 food pantries, children’s programs, shelters, soup kitchens, residential programs, and other emergency food providers. Jointly, BAFB provides more than 171 million pounds of food every year, the equivalent of more than 390,000 meals every day. Learn more at bayareahunger.org.

Bay Area Food Banks - Media Contacts

Alameda County Community Food Bank

Michael Altfest - maltfest@accfb.org

(510) 684-8655

Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano

Lisa Sherrill - rbraver@foodbankccs.org

(925) 677-7011

Redwood Empire Food Bank (Sonoma County)

Dalton Wiley - dwiley@refb.org

(707) 523-7902 x 114

San Francisco Food Bank

Goldie Pyka - gpyka@sfmfoodbank.org

(415) 282-1907 ext. 270

Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties

Caitlin Kerk - ckerk@shfb.org

(408) 858-9208