Letter Carriers Food Drive

Stamp Out Hunger
Letter Carriers’
Food Drive

May 10, 2008



		South Central Indiana Branch 828

The Letter Carriers’ Food Drive is a nationwide event that takes place annually on the second Saturday in May. For general information about the Food Drive and to learn about its national impact, visit the web site of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) at www.nalc.org/commun/foodrive.

This web site is for local coverage of the Food Drive in the area represented by NALC South Central Indiana Branch 828. Most of the information contained herein pertains to Bloomington and Monroe County, but Branch 828 also includes the counties of Greene, Lawrence, and Owen, and the city of Martinsville in Morgan County. Branch 828 also assists with the Food Drive in Nashville in Brown County.


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			A United Way Agency


	How does it work? On Saturday, May 10, letter carriers and numerous volunteers pick up donations of food that people have set out by their mailboxes. These donations are brought back to the Post Office where they are sorted while waiting for additional donations to arrive. As sorting containers become full, they are loaded unto trucks provided by local food pantries. By having volunteers assist with picking up the food, and doing the sorting as it comes in, the donations will be ready for use as soon as they arrive at the food pantry. Click here if you would like to help. For more information read Hunger News - a newsletter for the Letter Carriers Food Drive in Bloomington/Monroe County. Hunger News is produced annually to inform the community about the Food Drive - why it is important, what’s happening this year, and what people can do to help. Click on the front page at right to read Hunger News (pdf).

	For the past fourteen years, Branch 828 has partnered with Hoosier Hills Food Bank (HHFB) in Bloomington for the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive. HHFB is a central collector and distributor of food. Hoosier Hills Food Bank has a six county service area. Click on the logo at left to visit their web site.

Kroger and JayC Food Stores have given support to local Food Drive efforts for several years by providing plastic grocery bags for distribution in the mail a few days before the Food Drive. A card will be attached to the bags explaining what they are for. Kroger provides bags for use in Monroe County and Martinsville. Kroger also gives other support to Hoosier Hills Food Bank. JayC, a subsidiary of Kroger, provides bags for Lawrence County.


	Receive 500 bonus points for Labels for Education by participating in the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive. Click on the picture for details.







		United Way of Monroe County

	The AFL-CIO and United Way of America are both national sponsors of the Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Local United Ways and AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils lend support to local NALC Branches.

Thanks to Our Sponsors and Supporters!










		Jeanne Walters Real Estate provides a truck on Food Drive day to help with the collection and transportation of donations.

Of course the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive isn’t possible without the support and assistance of the U. S. Postal Service (USPS). The Postal Service provides a transportation network that no other food drive can match.

This network includes the thousands of rural carriers who are not required to participate in the Food Drive, but overwhelmingly choose to do so.

Nothing is successful unless you can get the word out. In this regard, The Herald-Times is an essential part of local food drive efforts. Much of the increase in last year’s donations in Monroe County can be attributed to the coverage by the H-T.

Along with NALC and the Postal Service, Campbell Soup Company provides the most support for the Food Drive. Campbell’s and the Postal Service share the cost of printing the millions of postcards that are mailed to households throughout the nation. Campbell’s also donates food and advertising material.

Also supporting the Food Drive as national sponsors are America’s Second Harvest and Valpak-Cox Target Media.