Ann Arbor — Food Gatherers invites all residents in Washtenaw County to donate food on Saturday, May 13th, during Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest one-day food drive. Donations made in Washtenaw County will benefit Food Gatherers, the food bank and food rescue program serving the community.
Stamp Out Hunger is coordinated by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). Postal customers can simply leave their donation of non-perishable food items next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday, May 13th. Letter carriers will collect these food donations on that day as they deliver mail along their postal routes, and distribute them to local hunger-relief organizations.
In 2022, Stamp Out Hunger raised more than 118,000 pounds of food to feed people living with food insecurity in Washtenaw County.
“Stamp Out Hunger is one of the easiest ways community members can contribute toward our mission, and this support comes at a critical moment,” says Eileen Spring, President and CEO of Food Gatherers. “With the end of federal pandemic-era benefits like the SNAP emergency allotments, many families are turning to food banks to fill the gap and provide healthy food for their families. Food Gatherers relies on food and fund drives like Stamp Out Hunger to meet the rising demand.”
Local letter carriers will deliver orange bags to many homes across Washtenaw County to remind everyone to participate in the food drive. Residents may fill the sponsored bags—or any other bag—with non-perishable food items, such as canned soup and stew, canned vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, rice, or cereal, and leave it next to their mailbox before their regular mail delivery time on May 13th for letter carriers to collect. Food Gatherers’ staff and volunteers will be on-site at the post office to accept the donations and deliver them to the warehouse on Carrot Way. Residents who decline to participate in the drive should recycle their bags.
The donation bags serve a dual purpose. Residents use them to donate food and they provide information for individuals in need of food assistance by directing people to contact United Way 2-1-1 to get information about and referrals to human services. The bags are sponsored by Food Gatherers, United Way of Washtenaw County, Kroger, Busch’s Fresh Food Market, Domino’s, Toyota, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, Brentwood Electric, Paragon Sight & Sound, Thomson Reuters, and KLA Foundation.
People who have questions about the drive in their area should ask their letter carrier, contact their local post office, or go HERE
About Food Gatherers
Food Gatherers’ mission is to alleviate hunger and eliminate its root causes in Washtenaw County. As the food bank and food rescue program for the county, Food Gatherers distributed 7.3 million pounds of food – the equivalent of 6 million meals – to 170 community partners and programs serving adults, seniors, and children last year. For a list of our partner programs or to learn how you can become involved in the fight against hunger locally, please visit FoodGatherers.org or call 734-761-2796.
About National Association of Letter Carriers
The 294,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country’s oldest labor unions.
