For the past 27 years, your local USPS employees have been hard at work participating in one of the largest single-day food drives which is held on the second Saturday of May. May of 2019 will be no different, on May 11, this Saturday, you can participate in the food drive as well by placing nonperishable goods in or next to your mailbox.
27th Year
For 27 years now mail carriers have participated in a national, one day, food drive. The food drive is happening in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. The United States Postal Service, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, AFL-CIO, United Way, Valassis, and Valpak Direct Marketing Systems are all different types of letter carriers that are taking part in this annual event. [1]
How to Participate
The NALC is asking that you put out some non-perishable food items by your mailbox on May 11. If you’re donating a lot of food, you can bag or box them up and put it next to your mailbox, if you’re not giving that much you can place the food inside your mailbox. Your local mail carrier will then come as usual to drop off your mail and pick up any donations.
NALC has said that the top requested items are: cereal, pasta, pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, canned meals (such as soups, chili and pasta), 100% juice, peanut butter, macaroni & cheese, canned protein (tuna, chicken and turkey), beans (canned or dry). They do ask that you abstain from donating frozen food, food in glass containers, and anything that is homemade or expired. [2]
Quick and Easy
All food that is donated will be distributed food banks in your local area; they will not be shipped to a distribution center in another state. If you’ve ever wanted to take part in a food drive but can’t find the time or energy, this is for you. You can easily become part of the people who have helped distribute millions of pounds of food in the past 27 years.
Notes:
- ^“Stamp Out Hunger food drive.” 9 May. 2019, about.usps.com/corporate-social-responsibility/nalc-food-drive.htm. (go back ↩)
- ^“Frequently Asked Questions (and answers).” National Association of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO, 7 May. 2019, www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive/frequently-asked-questions. (go back ↩)
