Saturday, May 12 is the day to help the Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana and the U.S. Postal Service "Stamp Out Hunger" by participating in a nationwide single-day food drive.
1 in 5 people in Northeast Louisiana are food insecure.
"Stamp Out Hunger started with the United States Postal Service letter carriers," says Jimmy Drummer, the Food Coordinator for the NELA Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. "We have collected non-perishable food items annually for the past 26 years." According to Drummer, in that time over 1.6 billion pounds of food were collected through the food drive. Last year, Northeast Louisiana donated 10,000 pounds to hungry people in the region.
The steps are simple:
- Collect non-perishable food items such as peanut butter or canned goods. (The food drive discourages donations in glass containers.)
- Leave them in a sturdy bag near the mailbox before mail delivery on Saturday.
Letter carriers collect these food donations and deliver them to the Food Bank of NELA. The drive is seeking out good, nutritious food. Sarah Hoffman of the Food Bank encourages participants to ask themselves, "What would I personally give to my neighbors if I knew they were hungry?" Canned soups and vegetables are encouraged because families can use them to make healthy, fulfilling meals.
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is Saturday, May 12. More information about this event is available here.
