Letter Carriers Union hosts annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive

This Saturday, Food Banks across the country are partnering with the Letter Carriers Union to host their annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive. 

“Typically, we have a lot of food donated during the holiday season, and why this food drive is so important is because this time of year we’re typically coming to the end of the food we’ve collected during the holidays. So this one day food drive will bring in, I think last year the letter carriers brought in about 43 thousand pounds of food, so this is what’s really going to take the food bank through the summer”, says Carly Robbins, executive director of Food For People nonprofit. 

Even though the weather is warm and the sun is shining, Humboldt’s largest food bank, Food For People, says they have seen a 30% increase in traffic this year, many of whom are seeking first time help. 

“The summer is when we see a lot more people coming in for assistance because families have children home, those school meals are no longer a constant in their lives. So families really feel it a lot more. So this food is going to go really far”, Robbins says. 

The drive is once a year, and the largest of it’s kind in the country. 

“On Saturday, this Saturday, letter carriers throughout the county are going to be picking up. And then they’re dropping off to food pantries in their community. So here in Eureka, they’re going to be dropping off the Food for People. And in other areas that food’s going directly to the food pantry in that community, so that it’s going to help residents in that same community”, she says. 

If you don’t have any non-perishables on hand to donate, there are other ways to help. 

“Well if you don’t have any food to donate and you’re looking for an easy way, financial donations always go really far. We can take financial donations and turn them into bulk food using our purchasing power.So that can be a really big way to make an impact, or if you just have time to give, we’re always looking for volunteers”, Robbins says. 

You can sign up to volunteer by going to foodforpeople.org, and participate by leaving any non perishables in your mailbox Saturday.

Story by Tucker Caraway