26th Annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is May 12

The Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger^® Food Drive is happening on Saturday, May 12, 2018. On this day, you can set out your non-perishable food before your letter carrier’s regular pick up time. The top requested non-perishable food items are: cereal, pasta, pasta sauce, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, canned meals (such as soups, chili, and/or pasta), 100 percent juice, peanut butter, macaroni & cheese, canned protein (tuna, chicken, and/or turkey), beans (canned or dry). You can also donate healthy, low-sodium, low-sugar items such as beans, oatmeal, and other whole grains, and canola or olive oil.
Please do not donate frozen food, homemade food, or home-canned items. Please do not donate items that have expired or are in glass containers. In keeping with good food-handling and food-safety procedures, food that is opened, damaged, out of code or does not have the official ingredients will be discarded by the food bank in the sorting process.
The Food Drive is primarily a people food drive, but if you also want to give pet food in addition to your regular donation, food banks may be able to distribute or direct it to pet shelters and organizations in the area that have a need.
Please do not donate any form of individual baby food products, including formula, jarred vegetables and fruits, meals, snacks, infant cereal. Baby food may be donated by the case or pallet, but single item donations present potential contamination risks and special handling requirements.
The Food Drive is primarily a food drive, but if you also want to give personal care items (such as diapers, laundry detergent, soap, toilet paper, and household cleaning items) in addition to your regular donation, food banks may be able to distribute or put them to good use with organizations that also provide help to those in need. Please note that not all food banks will be able to accept these items.
If you would like to volunteer with food distribution and sorting, or in any other capacity, call your local post office and ask to speak to the local food drive person there. Many food banks have a great need for volunteers on Food Drive Day, as well as all throughout the year.
All donations to the Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive are tax-deductible because all the food collected on Food Drive Day is given directly to non-profit charity food agencies in the community the food was collected. Though the National Association of Letter Carriers plans the Food Drive’s logistics and letter carriers provide the transportation for each donor’s generous donation, the National Association of Letter Carriers is not the agency that gets listed on tax forms for claiming deductions. There are more than 10,000 food agencies throughout the country that receive these donations, so if you itemize your taxes and want to provide proper credit for your Food Drive donations, you will need to determine the name of the agency (food pantry or other charity) that received your food, as well as the agency’s address and tax I.D. number for proper reporting on your tax-filing forms. The Food Drive Coordinator at your local post office should be able to give you the name of the receiving agency, and that agency will likely have tax information handy.
For more information, visit: nalc.org.