Stamp Out Hunger event to be held Saturday

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – On Saturday, your letter carrier will pick up more than the mail as May 12 marks the 26th Stamp Out Hunger food drive.  

Hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers, Stamp Out Hunger is the largest single-day food drive in the country. Across Florida, it benefits one in six people who are food insecure and the millions of Floridians who live in hunger.

Here's how it works.  

Floridians are asked to collect nonperishable food items and place them in a box or bag left in or next to their mailboxes on Saturday. A letter carrier will pick up all items left in the designated containers and deliver them to local food banks and food pantries. Items will then be weighed and distributed to individuals and families facing hunger in the communities where the items were collected. 

This year Farm Share, a large-scale food bank and charitable packinghouse, has joined Stamp Out Hunger as the lead agency coordinating efforts in all 67 counties. An official kickoff for the drive was held last week at Farm Share's headquarters in Homestead. 

"The nonperishable food products that are collected on May 12 will be combined with Farm Share's healthy, fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables to provide well-rounded meals to families, children, seniors and individuals in need from Key West to Pensacola," said Farm Share's Chief Operating Officer Stephen Shelley. "Without the letter carriers' unwavering dedication to Stamp Out Hunger, millions of people would go hungry, not only in Florida, but nationwide."

"With the last year being hard hit from hurricanes, fires, floods and other natural disasters, many Florida families are looking for some relief, and thanks to Stamp Out Hunger, relief is on its way," said Stephan Walker, treasurer of Branch 1071 of the National Association of Letter Carriers and coordinator of South Florida's Food Drive.

Last year, South Florida letter carriers collected more than 500,000 pounds of food. Nationally, the drive has collected more than 1.5 billion pounds of food.