Monday, June 6, 2011

Letter carriers’ annual food drive once again a success for the hungry

Picture courtesy of Birmingham local NALC President Antonia Shields
 This just in from the National Association of Letter Carriers:

June 4 -- In another successful nationwide food drive, the National Association of Letter Carriers collected 70.2 million pounds of food on May 14, at a time when hunger is a growing problem.

The NALC’s annual one-day drive, largest in the nation, is held on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. This was the 19th annual NALC Food Drive to stamp out hunger.

“Six days a week, letter carriers see first-hand the needs in the communities they work in, and we’re privileged to be able to help the needy and to lead an effort that brings out the best in so many Americans,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. Non-perishable donations residents left near their mail boxes were collected by the nation’s 230,000 letter carriers as they delivered mail.

This was the eighth consecutive drive surpassing 70 million pounds. Last year’s record collection of 77.1 million pounds pushed the total past the one-billion-pound mark, and the total since the drive began in 1993 now stands at 1,130,000,000 pounds. The slight downturn this year is related to the tough economy – which makes the drive all the more important.

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