May 11 Letter Carriers' Food Drive to Benefit Food Banks and Food-Rescue Organizations

Largest, One-Day Food Drive Supports America's Second Harvest

Chicago, IL -- May 8, 2002 -- Faced with increasing demand for emergency food assistance and a major influx of hungry families during the summer months, the 10th annual "Stamp Out Hunger" Food Drive will be conducted on Saturday, May 11, to benefit affiliates of America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief charity.

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the U.S. Postal Service have joined with America's Second Harvest in a national Call to Action to address the dramatic rise in demand for hunger relief this year, and pledged to double their efforts to make this year's drive a success. Carriers collected 70.1 million pounds of food in last May's drive, bringing to 462.4 million pounds the total delivered to local community food banks and pantries during the first nine years of the nationwide effort.

"Since this time last year, 80 percent of our network affiliates have experienced an increase in demand for emergency food assistance while local and national food donations have failed to keep up with the demand from downsized workers, female-headed households, poor children, and seniors on fixed income," said Robert Forney, President and CEO, America's Second Harvest. "This Saturday, I encourage everyone to leave non-perishable food items by their mailbox before your letter carrier arrives to help feed your hungry neighbors."

NALC President Vincent R. Sombrotto emphasized that the donations by postal customers are delivered to the community food banks and pantries that serve the area where the donations are collected, providing an opportunity for citizens to help needy families in their own communities.

"Despite the great resources of this nation, millions of children face hunger every day," said Sombrotto. "They are often in working families who have a never-ending battle to stretch their paycheck for food, medicine, clothing and shelter."

The donations will be taken to local post offices and later delivered to a local food bank or pantry. Nearly 1,500 local branches of the 315,000-member postal union in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam are participating in the 2002 NALC Drive. Over 99 million postcards, sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company and the U.S. Postal Service's Priority Mail, were mailed to postal customers to remind them of the drive. The postcards feature a cartoon by "Family Circus" artist Bill Keane, whose comic strip appearing in 1,500 newspapers on Saturday, May 11 spotlights a food drive.