Here’s an easy way that you can help to stamp out hunger. This Saturday, May 11, bag healthy non-perishable food items and place them by your mailbox before mail delivery. You may have already received a blue Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive bag in your mailbox. Your letter carrier will pick up the bag and deliver it to local food banks in your community.
In Arlington, VA, the food will go to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), which distributes groceries, directly and free of charge, to people living in Arlington who cannot afford to purchase enough food to meet their basic needs. This year, AFAC hopes to collect 30,000 pounds of healthy non-perishable foods from Arlington residents.
AFAC is one of my favorite local charities, and I have supported them for many years.
Food also is being accepted at Arlington Public Library branches and in the lobbies of Arlington’s Main, North, South, Shirlington and Westover post offices through May 17.
According to AFAC, the foods that are needed most include:
- Low sugar cereal
- Low sodium canned tomato products (diced, paste, or sauce)
- Low sodium canned tuna
- Low sodium canned soups
- Low sodium canned beans
The timing of the food drive is important, with food banks, pantries and shelters running low on donations from the winter holidays and with summer approaching, when most school meal programs are suspended. While hunger might not seem to be an issue in a wealthy county like Arlington, VA, some 2,300 families come to AFAC for food assistance every week.
The National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive is the country’s largest single-day food drive.
Please join me in helping those in need.
