Foodbank Partners with Letter Carriers for 27th Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

Source: Foodbank of Santa Barbara County

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will benefit from the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) annual food drive on Saturday, May 11. Postal customers can donate non-perishable food items by leaving them next to mailboxes before mail is delivered on the day of the drive.

“The most needed foods for the drive are canned protein such as tuna, chicken and salmon, nut butters, whole grain cereals, pasta and pasta sauce in jars, healthy soups and stews, rice and dried or canned beans,” said Foodbank communications manager Judith Smith-Meyer.

Last year, Santa Barbara County residents donated over 60,000 pounds of non-perishable food during the one-day drive, including 32,262 pounds for the Santa Barbara warehouse and 27,801 pounds for the Santa Maria warehouse.

“There is no easier way to donate,” said Lisa Skvarla, Foodbank director of community engagement. “Just leave the donated food in a sturdy bag by the mailbox. We’ll have volunteers at each post office ready to help unload the bags from our trusty postal carriers and get them on trucks to the warehouses.”

All non-perishable food left next to mailboxes before the mail delivery on May 11 will be collected by letter carriers as they deliver mail along their postal routes. Food donated by Santa Barbara County
residents will all go to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

“This is a labor of love for letter carriers, and we are proud to see how it has grown in impact over the years,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said.

Both Rolando and Foodbank staff noted that the timing is important because food banks, pantries and shelters typically run low on donations from the winter holidays by spring. With most school food programs suspended for the summer, families facing food insecurity rely on their local food bank to help feed their children.

Several national partners are assisting the NALC, including the U.S. Postal Service, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, United Way Worldwide, the AFL-CIO, Valpak, Vallassis, the Kellogg Co. and CVS.