On Saturday, May 11, mail carriers throughout Florida and the nation will collect more than stamped envelopes from mailboxes along their routes.
The National Association of Letter Carriers once again will coordinate the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, which the group has organized for the past 32 years.
In each community, mail carriers pick up donations of non-perishable food — cereal, pasta, spaghetti sauce, canned fruits, vegetables, soups, tuna, turkey, peanut butter, mac and cheese, beans and more.
The food drive takes place each year on the second Saturday of May and all donations are taken directly to local food banks to ensure that people in the community are helping others in the community.
Participating is simple. Just leave non-perishable food donations in a bag by your mailbox on Saturday, May 11, and your letter carrier will do the rest. Nationwide, over 1.9 billion pounds of food has been collected in the past 30 years.
In Key West, mail carrier Bob Killen, now retired, headed up the local effort, which resulted in record-breaking donations each year — and some back-breaking heavy lifting for the local carriers, who hold a light-hearted competition amongst themselves to see who collects the most along their route.
