By United Way staff
Stamp Out Hunger, the one-day food drive organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NACL) and supported in part by United Way, is the largest single-day food drive in the world. It occurs on the second Saturday in May, which this year is May 14.
The drive is orchestrated by local postal carriers who collect the food and manage its distribution. Food collected in a community stays local. In Chippewa and Eau Claire counties, Feed My People Food Bank, St. Francis Food Pantry, and the Salvation Army Food Pantry are some its largest recipients.
In 2011, Stamp Out Hunger nation-wide collected the largest amount of food ever—77.1 million pounds. This year, Stamp Out Hunger organizers have set a goal to surpass this amount and to make 2016 a record year of collection.
Locally, 2014 saw a significant increase in Chippewa and Eau Claire County donations, with almost 110 thousand pounds of food collected (a 14.5% increase). The Stamp Out Hunger drive also began encouraging dollar donations in the last couple of years. Last year, almost $2,000 were collected.
Dollars are encouraged as an alternative to food donations since food pantries can purchase $10 of food for every $1 they receive. Checks can be made out to a local food pantry of choice, put in an envelope marked, “Stamp Out Hunger” and placed in the mailbox for mail carriers to pick up.
The public is welcome to support Stamp Out Hunger by putting a bag or bags of nonperishable food items by their mail boxes on May 14 for either mail carriers or a volunteer to collect. Unopened canned goods (soups, fruit and vegetables, canned meats, beans, etc.) and dry goods (cereals, pasta, rice, etc.) are examples of items to donate, along with juice. Damaged, open, or expired food products, as well as glass containers, should not be donated.
Volunteers are needed to help collect and sort donated food on May 14. They will be assigned postal routes in area neighborhoods and will drive around and collect donations. Volunteers are also needed at The Salvation Army Food Pantry in Chippewa Falls to unload and sort donated items that are collected.
United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley is a major supporter of the food drive. To learn more or to volunteer for the day, visit www.uwgcv.org/stamp-out-hunger, or contact James Peters by phone at United Way (715-834-5043).