This dispatch was added by one of our Nonprofit Neighbors. It does not represent the editorial voice of The Rapidian or Community Media Center.
Grand Rapids has participated in Stamp Out Hunger since the event went national two decades ago. /National Association of Letter Carriers
On Saturday, May 9, Grand Rapids will take part in the 23rd-annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, coordinated by the National Association of Letter Carriers. All food collected in Grand Rapids will be donated to Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank.
“The Letter Carriers are one of our oldest partners in hunger relief,” said Feeding America West Michigan CEO Ken Estelle. “Year after year, they give their time and money to organize this enormous effort — our biggest food drive of the year. The food we collect on this one day will reach thousands of people.”
Giving to Stamp Out Hunger is simple — anyone with a mailing address can participate. Those who want to give should fill a bag with good, nonperishable food and set it by their mailbox prior to their regular delivery time on May 9. The Letter Carriers will do the rest.
“Six days a week, letter carriers see first-hand the needs in the communities where we work, and we’re committed to helping meet those needs,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said of the effort.
Last year, Grand Rapids collectively gave nearly 94,000 pounds of food during Stamp Out Hunger, enough to provide 73,500 meals to people in West Michigan. To date, Stamp Out Hunger has collected over 1 billion pounds of food for hunger-relief organizations around the country.
Hunger threatens 1 in 7 people in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Among kids, the rate is 1 in 5. Feeding America West Michigan just wrapped up a record year, with 26.5 million pounds of food distributed in 2014.
“The need for food hasn’t decreased in our community,” Estelle said. “We’re asking everyone to give what they can and help us Stamp Out Hunger this year.”
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