U.S. Postal Service Puts on Full Court Press to Stamp Out Hunger

WASHINGTON, April 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The nation's largest annual food drive to Stamp Out Hunger will be conducted Saturday, May 8. On that day, U.S. Postal Service letter carriers will collect non-perishable donations from homes as they deliver mail along their routes.

The annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) food drive — held in conjunction with the Postal Service — will help feed families in all 50 states.

"With the commitment and dedication of thousands of letter carriers, rural letter carriers, and postal and community volunteers, plus the involvement of our corporate partners, we will make a difference in helping to feed America's hungry and surpass the 2009 record of 73.4 million pounds of food collected," said Postmaster General John E. Potter. "The generosity of our customers and the determination of our employees have never been stronger."

Donations from this year's event are expected to push the overall total since the annual drive began 18 years ago to more than 1 billion pounds of collected food. The total currently is 982.7 million pounds.

NALC President Fredric Rolando said that as successful as the food drive has been in the past, it must be better this year due to the struggling economy.

"Millions and millions of families are suffering — struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table," said Rolando. "Food banks, pantries and shelters need our help more than ever this year. As families count on them for support, they're counting on us and we will not back off on our commitment."

More than 125 million postcards — designed for the first time by the Postal Service and co-sponsored by the Campbell Soup Company — will be mailed this week to customers to remind them of the drive.

Other co-sponsors of the drive are Feeding America, the nation's food bank network; United Way Worldwide and its local United Ways; the AFL-CIO; Valpak; and the National Rural Letter Carriers' Association.

To learn more about this year's food drive, visit: www.usps.com/stampouthunger. Also, to view a broadcast quality video promoting the food drive, visit: http://www.usngondemand.net/video/64/Stamp-Out-Hunger-2010.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service