Letter carriers from all across the country will be collecting
canned food on Saturday, May 8, as part of a nationwide food
drive.
Letter carriers from all across the country will be collecting canned food on Saturday, May 8, as part of a nationwide food drive.
The event is organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) in collaboration with the U.S. Postal Service, the AFL-CIO, the United Way, Campbell’s Soups and Second Harvest Food Bank.
With school ending and summer right around the corner, food banks are expecting to see a rise in demand and a decline in supply.
”We’re in that time period where donations to food banks are generally low. We are coming into the spring and summer breaks and many of the kids we’re feeding get breakfast and lunch at their schools,” said Jenny Luciano, director of communications for Second Harvest Food Bank.
Residents who receive flyers in their mailboxes requesting donations are invited to leave non-perishable food items by their mailboxes for pick-up.
Those who do not receive a flyer, but would like to participate, may bring their items to the local post office.
Gilroy’s Post Office is located at 100 Fourth St. From there the goods will be sent to Second Harvest’s warehouse in San Jose. The food is then sorted and inspected for integrity. Then, agencies will pick up the food during their scheduled times and distribute them in their area.
More than 678 local agencies and distribution sites will be helping the drive from Gilroy to South San Jose.
Gilroy agencies include Saint Joseph’s Family Center, The Salvation Army, Community Solutions, the Gilroy Senior Center, Rebekah Children’s Services, Cal Works Snack Program, MACSA and CAUSA. The food collected will go to more than 165,000 individuals who are served each month throughout the Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Especially needed are items that are high in protein such as powdered milk, peanut butter, pasta, tuna, canned foods with pop top lids, low-sugar cereal and 100% fruit juices.
Rice is also a high-demand food, particularly long-grain and jasmine varieties.
“Any size gift is going to make a dent in a family’s situation; whether it’s a can or a sack or groceries. Please just do what you can,” Luciano said, hoping to motivate residents to open their cupboards and give from the heart.
San Benito and Santa Cruz countiy residents can also join in by dropping goods off at local post offices.
Need to receive food? Second Harvest can help. To reap the benefits of this food drive call 1-800-984-3663.
