NALC and Hoosier Hills join forces for food drive

After delivering the day’s mail, Letter Carriers helped transport food to families in need.
Hoosier Hills food bank and the Letter Carriers Union paired for the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive Saturday.

People were encouraged to leave a bag of nonperishable food by their mailboxes for Letter Carriers to pick up and bring to Hoosier Hills.

In an effort to bring in more food, the food drive continued into Sunday.

With an extra day, Bryant said she hopes to exceed the 38,000 pounds they collected this past year.

“Our letter carriers are on the streets and in the community every day and they see firsthand how families are struggling to put food on the table,” Indiana National Association of Letter Carriers President John Tripplett said in a press release. “These are not only our customers, they are our neighbors and friends, and we
are proud to help in this worthy effort.”

Through a partnership with Feeding America, a network of more than 200 food banks, Hoosier Hills distributes the food collected to local food banks, soup kitchens and shelters.

The annual nationwide event garnered more than 74 million pounds of food this past year, its 21st year of operation. Over the course of its 21-year history, the
drive has collected more than one billion pounds of food, according to a press release.

The Hoosier Hills food bank in Bloomington collected 27,000 pounds of food this year, which is 10,000 pounds less than the amount collected this past year, Executive Director Julio Alonso said.

Alonso said it might have been because it rained Saturday, or because of IU graduation.

Stamp Out Hunger is the organizations’ most important event of the year, according to a press release. Angelo said the food bank has come to rely on the proceeds throughout the year.

“It’s always been very important to us,” he said.

Hoosier Hills has experienced a spike locally and nationally in demand since the recession began, Alonso said.

More than one million people in Indiana are unsure of where their next meal is coming from, according to a press release.

“The timing of this food drive is crucial,” Executive Director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry Emily Bryant said. “Food banks and pantries receive many donations during the holiday season. By spring, supplies begin to run low at a time when we need to gear up for summer, when children don’t have access to school breakfast and lunch programs and might not access summer feeding programs.”

Member food banks of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry distributed 80 million pounds of food in 2013 through nearly 1,700 agencies across Indiana, according to a press release.

Alonso said the food collected from last years Stamp  Out Hunger drive lasted them the whole summer.