Letter carriers’ food drive set for May 12

In Springfield, as well as 10,000 communities across America, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands, postal customers are asked to donate perishable food items by placing them near their mailboxes on May 12. U.S. Postal Service employees will collect the donated food and deliver it to local food banks, pantries and shelters.

“Since the drive began in 1993, postal customers have been extremely generous by donating more than three-quarters of a billion pounds of food,” said Postmaster General John E. Potter in a news release.

According to USPS, an estimated 35 million people are at risk of hunger in the United States, and 12 million of those are children. In late spring, many food banks begin running out of the donations received during the holidays.

More than 120 million postcards were mailed to postal customers to let them know about the food drive.

Among Stamp Out Hunger’s longtime supporters are Campbell’s Soup Co., America’s Second Harvest, local United Way agencies and the AFL-CIO Community Services Network.