The food, in cans and other non-perishable forms, was delivered to local food banks, pantries and shelters to help needy families in all 50 states and U.S. territories and jurisdictions, the National Association of Letter Carriers said.
Millions of families left food by their mailboxes or in large cities took it to post offices on the one-day drive on Saturday, May 10. Thousands of Letter Carriers, rural carriers, and other postal employees and volunteers collected, processed, and delivered it to the pantries and shelters, NALC President William Young said.
"It is heartwarming that in these difficult times, when all families are feeling the effects of high food and gasoline prices, that so many Americans put aside their own financial concerns to help others facing hard times. They should be applauded for their generosity toward millions of needy Americans — including many working families, children and the elderly," he added. Letter Carriers "are proud to deliver" the food to organizations that feed the hungry, Young stated.
Final results showed 73,113,915 pounds of non-perishable food were collected in the union\'s annual "Stamp Out Hunger" drive in more than 10,000 cities and towns, including many in Minnesota. The amount was 2.4 million pounds larger than a year ago and surpassed the previous record of 71.3 million pounds collected in 2005. In 16 years, the NALC\'s annual drives have collected 909 million pounds of food.
West Coast Florida NALC Branch 1477, headquartered in the St. Petersburg area, finished first among the nearly 1,500 local branches that conducted drives, collecting 1,717,218 pounds of food. That ended a five-year reign by Buffalo/Western New York NALC Branch 3 as the top local branch. Branch 3 finished second.
Young thanked the Postal Service and Campbell Soup Co., who together supplied over 120 million postcards to promote the drive. Other top backers were the AFL-CIO and America\'s Second Harvest, the nation\'s food bank network.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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The food, in cans and other non-perishable forms, was delivered to local food banks, pantries and shelters to help needy families in all 50 states and U.S. territories and jurisdictions, the National Association of Letter Carriers said.
Millions of families left food by their mailboxes or in large cities took it to post offices on the one-day drive on Saturday, May 10. Thousands of Letter Carriers, rural carriers, and other postal employees and volunteers collected, processed, and delivered it to the pantries and shelters, NALC President William Young said.
"It is heartwarming that in these difficult times, when all families are feeling the effects of high food and gasoline prices, that so many Americans put aside their own financial concerns to help others facing hard times. They should be applauded for their generosity toward millions of needy Americans — including many working families, children and the elderly," he added. Letter Carriers "are proud to deliver" the food to organizations that feed the hungry, Young stated.
Final results showed 73,113,915 pounds of non-perishable food were collected in the union\’s annual "Stamp Out Hunger" drive in more than 10,000 cities and towns, including many in Minnesota. The amount was 2.4 million pounds larger than a year ago and surpassed the previous record of 71.3 million pounds collected in 2005. In 16 years, the NALC\’s annual drives have collected 909 million pounds of food.
West Coast Florida NALC Branch 1477, headquartered in the St. Petersburg area, finished first among the nearly 1,500 local branches that conducted drives, collecting 1,717,218 pounds of food. That ended a five-year reign by Buffalo/Western New York NALC Branch 3 as the top local branch. Branch 3 finished second.
Young thanked the Postal Service and Campbell Soup Co., who together supplied over 120 million postcards to promote the drive. Other top backers were the AFL-CIO and America\’s Second Harvest, the nation\’s food bank network.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.