Rhode Islanders will have a chance to help neighbors in need through the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Saturday, May 9, coordinated by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Simply leave a bag of healthy, non-perishable food items near your mailbox early on the morning of Saturday, May 9, and your letter carrier will pick up your donation and deliver it to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank where it will be distributed to food pantries throughout the state.

“We rely on our caring, generous postal patrons to support our food drive each year,” says Rhode Island food drive coordinator and veteran letter carrier Steve Lepre. “Just leave out a bag of food on the morning of Saturday, May 9, and your letter carrier will do the rest.”

Last year, the drive brought in nearly 90,000 pounds of food to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Organizers would like to see that amount increase to over 100,000 pounds this year.

“This food drive is so critical to our ability to serve our neighbors in need here at the Food Bank, especially during the summer months when food donations traditionally decrease,” Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer said in a statement. “Everyone can make a difference in the fight against hunger, simply by leaving a bag of food at their mailbox on Saturday, May 9.”  

Most-needed items include canned soup and vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, rice, canned beans, tuna, and healthy cereals. As always, the food collected will be sorted by volunteers who check for use-by dates and damaged packaging.

This year marks the 23rd anniversary of the event, a national effort to fight hunger. Across the country, partners supporting Stamp Out Hunger include the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), United States Postal Service (USPS), AFL-CIO, Feeding America, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA), United Way, Valassis, and Valpak.