On Saturday, May 12, the National Association of Letter Carriers, United States Postal Service and other partners are asking Waterloo residents to Stamp Out Hunger. 

This is the 26th anniversary of the food drive, which has grown into a national effort that provides assistance to the millions of Americans struggling to help put food on the table.

The Stamp Out Hunger food drive has become the nation’s largest single-day food drive. In 2017, generous Americans donated more than 71 million pounds of food, feeding millions of people. 

“We’re proud to continue this community tradition,” Waterloo Postmaster Michael Hovey said. “We’re asking residents for their support to help make this another successful year.  It’s easy to make a donation: simply leave a bag of nonperishable food items by the mailbox to help your neighbors in need.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 50 million Americans are food insecure, meaning they live at risk of hunger. Perhaps most alarming is the fact that nearly 16 million children in America are struggling with hunger. Additionally, close to 5 million seniors face choices between paying rent, utilities, and having nutritious food.

To participate in the food drive, residents are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag containing nonperishable food items such as canned soup, canned vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, rice or cereal next to their mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on May 12.  

Letter carriers will collect these food donations as they deliver the mail and take them to local food banks.