Submitted by Mary Pitcher
Community Relations
Barnabas Nassau
April 27, 2015 1:00 a.m.
On Saturday, May 9, 2015, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will collect food donations in order to provide assistance to the millions of Americans who are struggling with hunger. Celebrating its 23rd anniversary this year, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, held on the second Saturday in May, is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, having collected more than one billion pounds of food since its inception as a national food drive in 1993.
The nation’s 180,000 postal letter carriers will collect food donations left at the mailboxes of generous Americans in more than 10,000 communities and deliver them to food banks and other hunger relief organizations.
In 2014, generous Nassau County residents living in the 32034 zip code donated over 17,062 pounds of food which was delivered to Barnabas Center for distribution to those in need. The need for donations is great, and the timing of this food drive is crucial as the Barnabas Food Pantry often receives the majority of its donations during the holiday season. By springtime, the pantry is depleted, entering the summer low on supplies when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.
How can you help? It’s so easy! Residents are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable food items at or in their mailbox early on Saturday May 9. Letter carriers will collect the donations as they deliver the mail.
Wondering what are the best foods to donate? A few food items that are always needed include canned soup or chili, canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, pasta, rice, 100% juice, peanut butter, pasta or spaghetti sauce, canned or dry beans, macaroni and cheese, canned protein such as tuna, chicken or turkey.
Please help! The need for food assistance continues to exist throughout Nassau County. Over 13%, or almost 10,000 of our neighbors, are rarely sure how they’ll get enough to eat in the next few days. Over 3,000 of them are children. Each month, Barnabas distributes food to over 600 households to these neighbors in need through the food pantry. Without such help, these families often go hungry.
Barnabas Center operates the largest food pantry in Nassau County, providing emergency food to individuals and families experiencing hunger and uncertain food supplies. Through generous donations, we have been able to expand our programs to include fresh and frozen foods, nutritional education, and a teaching kitchen. For more information about Barnabas’ Food Pantry programs, please visit our website at www.BarnabasNassau.org.