Help Stamp Out Hunger before you leave town for the summer

Six days a week, 52 weeks a year, rain or shine, local letter carriers deliver everything from bills and birthday cards to catalogs and coupons. But on the second Saturday of May, postal workers in Collier Country will deliver something more as they go along their routes: hope in the form of food for those in need.

Saturday, May 12, marks the National Association of Letter Carriers 26th annual Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, when postal customers are asked to leave donations of non-perishable pantry items for their carriers to pick up. In Collier County, these food donations are delivered to Collier Harvest Foundation, which has partnered with the NALC since the food drive began.

The drive occurs just as Southwest Florida’s seasonal residents leave; its success is critical to the efforts of feeding those less fortunate in our area throughout the summer, especially students from low-income families that rely on breakfast and lunch provided by Collier County Public Schools during the academic year. (CCPS reports serving on average 21,369 free or reduced meals a day). In addition, many families will see reduced or eliminated work hours in industries that provide seasonal services, further straining already stretched budgets.

Stamp Out Hunger donations are sorted, boxed and stored at the Collier Harvest warehouse for distribution to dozens of local agencies, such as Providence House, Youth Haven, Collier

Senior Resources, NAMI and other nonprofit organizations and churches.

The goal is to collect enough food to see these agencies through the summer, as well as have enough food to aid in the event of a hurricane or other disaster. Letter carriers last year collected 263,000 pounds of food donated by their customers.

“I can’t tell you how much this helps us. We feed many, many people every day, and this helps us tremendously,” chef Amy Peters at the David Lawrence Center says.

Stamp Out Hunger is a communitywide event in which resident can participate on many levels:

¦ Seasonal residents who are leaving before the May 12 collection day are encouraged to take their unopened, non-perishable items to the closest postal branch or give them to their mail carrier.

¦ Businesses, schools and other organizations can collect food ahead of the drive to increase the donation total.

¦ On the day of the food drive, volunteers are needed to help unload, sort and box food at the Collier Harvest warehouse. The busiest time of day is from 3-7 p.m. as the carriers finish their routes; volunteers are asked to commit to two-hour shifts.

“It’s an amazing day filled with community spirit as individuals, youth groups, businesses and civic organizations come together to help feed those less fortunate who live right here in Collier County,” says Connie Preu, Collier Harvest executive director. “We typically have up to 200 volunteers, working shifts, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. We have pizza, refreshments and even live music to keep everyone motivated while they work. It’s a fun and rewarding way to give back to the community.”

To sign up to volunteer for Stamp Out Hunger or for information about other volunteer opportunities at Collier Harvest, call 455-3663 or visit www.collierharvest.org. ¦