Sunday, May 16, 2010
Food for Thought—A Look at Food Banks in the U.S.A. Part 2:
“Stamp Out Hunger”—The Largest Single-Day Food Drive in the U.S.
A postcard sent out to families across the United States as a reminder of the nationwide food drive. The woman pictured is a United States Postal Service mail carrier. (From the Stamp Out Hunger website)
Stamp Out Hunger, a nationwide food drive in the U.S., took place Saturday, May 8. It is the largest single-day food drive in the country and is organized through a collaborative effort of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the United States Postal Service (USPS). Hence, the play on words, to literally “stamp” out hunger in America. On May 8th each year across all 50 states, people can leave non-perishable food (canned foods, juice, rice, cereal, etc.) outside their homes for letter carriers to pick up on their regular mail delivery route. The donated food are gathered at the post office and delivered to local food banks, food pantries and other hunger relief organizations.
This year marked the 18th year of this food drive. The goal for 2010 was to surpass last year’s record of 73.4 million pounds (approximately 33,000 tons) of food collected. It is also estimated that this year, the total amount of food collected by Stamp Out Hunger in the last 18 years will reach over one billion pounds (approximately 450,000 tons).
Currently in the United States, where an estimated 49 million people live without food security, the dependency for food banks and food pantries of low income families and individuals is rising. NALC President Fredric Rolando said that “… food banks, pantries and shelters need our help more than ever this year. As families [of low income] count on them for support, they’re counting on us, and we will not back off on our commitment.”
To promote the food drive, more than 125 million postcards (pictured above) was mailed to families all over the nation.
The postcard is a very interesting idea, and the power and determination to make this food drive happen all across the country is inspiring. The dedication and creative problem-solving in the U.S. to address poverty never ceases to amaze, and is something that Second Harvest Japan can learn greatly from.
We also welcome your comments and thoughts. Mail us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and follow us on Twitter for the latest news about food banking in Japan (@2HJ_en in English, @2ndharvestjapan in Japanese).
References
All quotes and data in this article come from this Feeding America website.
If you like this story, you might also enjoy:
Food for Thought—A Look at Food Banks in the U.S.A. Part 1: From Farm to Family
Office Manager Masahiro Otake’s U.S. Food Bank Travelogue Vol. 1
What is a food drive and how can you be a part of one?
Link to News story »
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