MEDFORD, Ore. — Saturday, May 12 will see the return of the Stamp Out Hunger food drive. This is the 26th annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Participants can leave bags of non-perishable food donations out in bags by their mailbox on May 12, and letter carriers will come by to pick them up.
“Items needed most are nonperishable proteins like tuna, peanut butter and canned chicken, as well as canned fruits and low sodium soups and vegetables. Toiletries are always welcome too, as they are not covered by food stamps,” said ACCESS Nutrition Director Philip Yates.
After letter carriers start picking up donations on Saturday morning, volunteers will help unload the collected food from 1 – 7 p.m. and bring it to ACCESS. ACCESS then plans to distribute the food to 24 emergency pantries throughout Jackson County.
Jackson County’s emergency pantries provide close to 3,000 food boxes a month to the needy—about five days’ worth of food per box, according to ACCESS.
Last year, letter carriers in Jackson County collected more than 47,000 pounds of food. More than 71 million pounds were collected around the country—from more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Right now, one in every six Americans are food insecure, equating to 49 million people. 16 million are children, according to ACCESS.
ACCESS is a non-profit in Jackson County focused on community action, particularly on the issue of poverty. They were founded in 1976, and have since founded 15 different programs designed to aid the local community.
CLICK HERE to visit the ACCESS Facebook page for updates on this and other events.
