Alameda County Community Food Bank

Press Releases:

Contact: Judyth Collin
(510) 636-4902

Letter Carriers Deliver to Food Banks
―“Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive Slated for Saturday, May 10―

28 April 2008 -- (Oakland, CA) – “Going postal” has a whole new meaning when thousands of Bay Area letter carriers go above and beyond the call of duty as they travel their routes on Saturday, May 10th to collect food donations for the 16th annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive. In Alameda County participation is strictly voluntary as letter carriers don blue “Stamp Out Hunger” T-shirts, paid for out of their own pockets, and set out to collect thousands of pounds of nonperishable food donations that residents set out by their mailboxes. The nationwide food drive will benefit the Alameda County Community Food Bank, as well as food banks across the nation.

“This is our chance to show that postal workers are very dedicated individuals who care about their communities,” said Dennis Stecz, NALC food drive coordinator for Alameda County. “We deliver door-to-door every day and although it’s a lot of hard work collecting food, we feel good about spreading goodwill to our community through the food drive.”

To recognize and thank carriers in Alameda County for their efforts, local stations will be hosting barbecue cookouts with mushroom-turkey burgers provided by the Food Bank and donated by Aidells.

“Everybody likes to eat,” said Anthony Lowe of Oakland’s Eastmont Station. “We look forward to the food drive because it’s the one day of the year when we all get together. We have a cookout—we do it up!”

This food drive is vital to Food Bank supplies for the summer when emergency food requests increase dramatically. Referrals from the Food Bank’s emergency food helpline, which averages 1,500 calls per month, increased by 34 percent last year – families calling for the first time increased 17 percent, grandparent caring for children tripled, and single mothers rose by 67 percent. People who call the toll-free helpline (800-870-3663) are connected with an agency in their neighborhood that provides same-day emergency food, such as a hot meal or bag of groceries.

“I definitely see the need in the community as I travel my route,” stated Lowe. “I can tell by the type of mail I deliver.”

Last year’s drive raised 70 million pounds nationwide, including 102,000 pounds for the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Residents in Alameda County are encouraged to put a bag of nutritious, nonperishable food, such as canned vegetables and fruits, tuna fish, peanut butter, rice, dry beans and pasta, near their home or business mailbox prior to the morning of Saturday, May 10th. Or they may take a bag of food to their local post office, where red Food Bank barrels will be located.

“In Alameda County, one in three children is at risk of hunger,” said Suzan Bateson, executive director of Alameda County Community Food Bank. “Low-income families are especially challenged during the summer months when their children don’t have access to free or reduced-price school lunches. We depend on the Letter Carriers Food Drive to replenish pantries, which are very depleted at this time of the year.”

The food drive is supported by the U.S. Postal Service, United Way, AFL-CIO Community Services network, Campbell Soup Company and America’s Second Harvest.