LONG ISLAND, NY — April 27, 2017 — Island Harvest Food Bank is teaming up with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the United States Postal Service (USPS) for the 25th-annual Stamp Out Hunger campaign on Saturday, May 13, 2017. As the nation’s largest single-day food drive, postal carriers across the country will collect nonperishable food items donated by generous homeowners. On Long Island, all food collected will help Island Harvest Food Bank to provide supplemental food support to the more than 316,000 Long Islanders who are at risk of hunger and food insecurity.
Participating in Stamp Out Hunger is easy. Simply leave nonperishable food items,
such as canned goods, cereal, pasta, rice, boxed juices and shelf-stable milk (please,
no glass items), next to your mailbox before your regularly scheduled mail delivery on Saturday, May 13, 2017. Your USPS letter carrier will do the rest. All food donated will help replenish Island Harvest Food Bank’s network of food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency feeding programs in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
“Every donation, no matter how small, will help us serve those of our neighbors who are struggling to put food on their tables,” said Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest Food Bank. “We have an amazing, long-standing partnership with the National Association of Letter Carriers, the United States Postal Service, and our corporate partners, and thank them for their ongoing support in working to end hunger locally and across the nation.”
“The National Association of Letter Carriers is once again proud to partner with Island Harvest Food Bank and support its efforts in addressing the problem of hunger in our local communities,” said Walter Barton, president, NALC Branch 6000. “Letter Carriers have a unique relationship with the community. We often see the need for food assistance firsthand. This will be the 25th consecutive year that the Letter Carriers across the nation have collected food for the less fortunate. During that time, over 1.5 billion pounds of food have been distributed. We’re happy to help give back to the community, and provide much-needed food support for the thousands of Long Island families affected by hunger.”
Since its inception twenty-five years ago, Stamp Out Hunger has collected approximately 1.5 billion pounds of food nationally to help address the issue of hunger in America. Last year, Stamp Out Hunger netted 80.1 million pounds of food in 10,000 cities and towns, and in all 50 states. In 2016, Long Islanders donated 471,553 pounds of food, which supplemented 392,963 meals, to Stamp Out Hunger. That generosity made Long Island one of the top-ten food collection regions.
About Hunger and Food Insecurity on Long Island
Food insecurity is a state in which people do not get enough food on a consistent basis to provide the nutrients for active and healthy lives. It can result from the recurrent lack of access to food. More than 316,000 Long Islanders face the risk of hunger every day, according to Island Harvest Food Bank and Feeding America®, a national hunger-relief organization. Those facing hunger include adults (often working two jobs), children, senior citizens, and veterans. Unable to make ends meet, they (and their children) are often forced to go without food. Approximately 70,000 individuals seek food assistance in Nassau and Suffolk counties each week through soup kitchens, food pantries and other feeding programs served by Island Harvest Food Bank.
About Island Harvest Food Bank
Island Harvest Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization that provides food and other resources to people in need. Always treating those it helps with dignity and respect, its goal is to end hunger and reduce food waste on Long Island through efficient food collection and distribution; enhanced hunger-awareness and nutrition-education programs; job training; and direct services targeted at children, senior citizens, veterans, and others at risk of food insecurity. As a result of Island Harvest Food Bank’s dynamic business model, more than 94 percent of expended resources go directly to programs and services that support over 316,000 Long Islanders facing hunger. Island Harvest Food Bank is a lead agency in the region’s emergency response preparedness for food and product distribution, and is a member of Feeding America®, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization. Island Harvest is a four-star-rated nonprofit by Charity Navigator, an independent charity watchdog organization. More information can be found at www.islandharvest.org.
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Contact: Don Miller
West End Strategies, Ltd.
516-330-1647
don@westendstrategiespr.com