On May 12 carriers in Wichita Falls, Burkburnett, Iowa Park, Henrietta, Bowie, Olney, Breckenridge, Graham, Mineral Wells, Quanah, Vernon, Electra and Jacksboro will make it easy for anyone on their routes to donate non-perishable food to people in need.
Stamp Out Hunger campaign donations will go to Wichita Falls Area Food Bank and food pantries in the surrounding area.
“We’re asking our communities to help us Stamp Out Hunger by leaving a donation next to their mailbox before mail is delivered May 12,” said Keith Deason, organizer for the 26th annual food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers. “Last year in our area about 200 carriers picked up 69,724 pounds of food.”
That’s enough food for more than 58,103 meals to feed families, children, seniors, the disabled and veterans in the area who otherwise would go hungry.
“I hear from carriers all the time they feel they can work a little harder that week to see the benefit they’re providing to people who really need it,” Deason said. “And I love to see the back of my postal truck sagging down from all the food I collected that day.”
The best foods to donated include:
- Canned tuna, chicken, chili, soup, stew, pasta sauce, vegetables and fruit
- Brown rice, cereal, beans, oats, pasta, peanut butter and juice.
Because daily schedules can be challenging, Deason explained there are other ways to donate to Stamp Out Hunger.
People can bring food items to any post office “a week or so ahead” of May 12. Many apartment complexes allow residents to bring food to the main office in advance.
“We do appreciate donations on the day of so we can get the number of pounds in to NALC for a grand total,” Deason said.
As the nation’s largest single day food drive, in 2017 more than 75 million pounds of food were collected across the U.S. Since the first Stamp Out Hunger campaign in 1992, NALC has collected 1.6 billion pounds of food.