Nation’s largest one day food drive will Stamp Out Hunger
The 21st annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive will take place on Saturday, May 11, 2013 from 8:30 am-5:00 pm at Hunger Task Force warehouse located at 201 S. Hawley Court and Post offices throughout Milwaukee.
Over 5,000 letter carriers from rural and urban post offices will collect food donations as they deliver mail along their route. Over 500 volunteers will be sorting food donations on site at local post offices as letter carriers pull in with mail trucks full of food.
Letter carriers all over the city will be collecting donations along their mail route. They will fill their mail van and drop the food off at the post office.
All local post offices will be manned by Hunger Task Force staff and volunteers who will sort the food on site and load it onto trucks that will bring the food to the Hunger Task Force warehouse.
Interviews: Sherrie Tussler, Executive Director of Hunger Task Force; Scott Van Derven, United States Postal Service letter carrier and liaison for the Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
History: Stamp Out Hunger is the nation’s largest single day food drive. On May 11, letter carriers nationwide will pick up bags of donated food along their routes. In Milwaukee County, Hunger Task Force will sort and deliver food to area food pantries and soup kitchens free of charge; outside of Milwaukee County, local qualified emergency food pantries will receive the food in their community. The food collected will help feed the hungry during the summer, which is a high-risk time period for hunger because children are not receiving school meals.
Local Pick n Save stores will have donation boxes available through May 20 for those who will be out of town or forget to leave food for their letter carrier.
In 2012, over 2.5 million pounds of food were collected throughout the state in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula.
The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is sponsored locally by the National Association of Letter Carriers Pioneer Branch 2, Johnson Controls and Kohl’s Cares. The United States Postal Service furnished personnel, equipment and post office stations.
For more information about the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, visit HungerTaskForce.org.