Peninsula Residents Asked to Partake in Food Drive Saturday

San Mateo residents are being asked to participate in the nation's largest single-day food drive on Saturday.

Residents may leave non-perishable foods in a sturdy bag by their mailboxes on Saturday, and letter carriers will pick up the goods as part of the Letter Carriers’ “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive.

The food drive will benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Anyone may participate.

In 2011, San Mateo County Letter Carriers collected 140,000 pounds of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank, but the need for food assistance continues to exist in San Mateo County and the Bay Area region.

According to food drive officials, one in 10 San Mateo / Santa Clara county residents receives food from the Second Harvest Food Bank.

During the past year, the Second Harvest Food Bank served an average of 240,000 people per month, representing a 4 percent increase over the previous year. The majority of people who receive food are seniors and low-income families with children.

The Letter Carriers’ “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive is held every year on the second Saturday in May. Campbell Soup Company will join forces with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the US Postal Service to help Stamp Out Hunger in San Mateo County.

The Letter Carriers Food Drive has grown from a regional to a national effort that provides assistance to the millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table.

In 2011, Americans donated 70.2 million pounds of food, which marked the eighth consecutive year that at least 70 million pounds were collected by letter carriers.

“We’re incredibly excited about the 20th anniversary of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive,” Fredric V. Rolando, NALC union president, said in a statement. “We’re asking people across the country for their support to make this year’s drive the most successful in its 20 year history. It’s so easy to make a donation: simply leave a bag of non- perishable food by your mailbox to help neighbors in need. That’s all it takes.”

Locally, this year’s partners –Letter Carriers Branches 1280, 214 and 1427, United Way of the Bay Area, Second Harvest Food Bank, USPS, San Mateo County Central Labor Council and Campbell Soup Company will join with national partners in producing post cards and shopping bags that will be delivered to more than 90 million homes across the country as a reminder to participate in the drive. In addition, Campbell will again support this year’s food collection effort by donating one million pounds of food to Feeding America.

To participate in the 20th Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive just leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal next to your mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 12.

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