The 31st annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive returns to the Valley this weekend.
Residents across the country, including those in the East Valley, are asked to place non-perishable food donations by their mailboxes before 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 13. These will be picked up by their local carrier and will begin arriving at post offices by 4 p.m. that day.
Mesa-based United Food Bank is one of the primary recipients for donations made in the East Valley. This drive is an essential opportunity for area food banks to stock their shelves for the coming summer months when need typically increases and donations tend to decrease.
The Stamp Out Hunger food drives is one of the largest food drives of the year for United Food Bank. Last year, the local food bank collected about 100,000 pounds of food. United Food Bank works with over 150 community partners to serve more than 228,000 Arizonans in need living in the East Valley and eastern Arizona.
Stamp Out Hunger food drive collects non-perishable food donations from residents in the East Valley, in addition to nationwide collections, which are picked up by local mail carriers and donated to food banks and pantries in their region.
The National Association of Letter Carriers is the chief organizer of the nation’s largest one-day food drive in the nation. This effort happens annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns throughout the country. The food drive has collected more than 1.3 billion pounds of food since the drive began in 1992.
United Food Bank has provided hunger relief to people in the East Valley and eastern Arizona since 1983. As a Feeding America member food bank, the organization collects, acquires, stores and distributes food to 150 partner agencies and programs throughout five counties. Each year, United Food Bank distributes over 21.6 million pounds of food equating to 49,000 meals a day. Its mission to unite communities and alleviate hunger is executed each day.
