Help Stamp Out Hunger on May 9th, 2009

The nation’s largest single-day food drive is this Saturday, May 9th. The United States Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers are conducting their annual Stamp out Hunger food drive. Last year over 73 million pounds of food were collected and donated to foodbanks. This year they expecting record-breaking donations. You can very easily participate simply by leaving a non-perishable food item in or by your mailbox.

This is the 15th year of the food drive. Since 1993 more than three-quarters of a billion pounds of food have been collected and distributed to food banks throughout the United States. 35 million people are estimated to be at risk of hunger in the United States, including 12 million children. When you donate food the letter carriers will pick it up on their delivery routes and it will ultimately be delivered to one of the foodbanks or shelters in your community.

Donate Food

The food that is suggested for donations are cans of meat, soup, fish, pasta, vegetable, cereal and rice. Do not donate food with expired dates or in glass containers. In addition to donating food you can also donate money online through the partner website, FeedingAmerica.org.

Help Spread the Word and Stamp out Hunger

There are other ways you can help with Stamp Out Hunger. If you visit http://www.helpstampouthunger.com you can print out flyers to distribute to your neighbors or post on bulletin boards. You can also send an email to your

friends directly from the website asking your friends to help out. If you are a member of Facebook you will a link on the site to join the Stamp Out Hunger group.

Go check our your shelves now and see if you have some food you can donate! Put it by your front door so you won’t forget to put it by your mailbox this Saturday.

Article by Amy Passmore of DIY Fundraising. Visit www.diyfundraising.com for do-it-yourself fundraising ideas for nonprofit organizations, clubs, schools and groups.