Your local mail carrier will be busier than usual this Saturday. That’s the day of the annual Letter Carriers’ food drive, called “Stamp Out Hunger.”
Postal workers in the region will pick up food donations when they deliver the mail on Saturday, May 10th. Last year, 31,000 pounds of donations were collected in the La Crosse area. City letter carrier Aileen Ledesma says the best way to leave food for the carriers on Saturday is to put non-perishable items by their mailboxes, “preferably the day of the food drive, roughly around 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.”
“People like to wait until their mail carrier gets in the area,” she said, “but we’re gonna have volunteers coming around, picking up and helping the carriers pick up food.”
Mail carriers are delivering plastic bags to fill with food. This marks the 33rd year of the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive, supported by the AFL-CIO and the United Way.
Shelly Fortner from the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse says the number of customers visiting area food pantries has been growing. “The need is great right now,” said Fortner. “This is the time of year when the need is the most, as kids are getting ready to be home from school for the summer,” and eating extra meals at home.” Canned meats, tuna, and peanut butter are among the foods most in demand at area pantries.
The donations are sent to local pantries, including WAFER, the Onalaska Food Basket, and the Hunger Task Force. The Stamp Out Hunger campaign is the biggest one-day food drive in the U.S., having started in the 1990’s.
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