The Rowan County branch of the U.S. Postal Service is asking for the community’s help in collecting canned goods for its annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive on Saturday.
This is the 21st anniversary of the food drive, which is the nation’s largest single-day event of its kind.
Since its 1993 inception, the drive has collected 1 billion pounds of food, organizers say.
The community can help by leaving non-perishable food donations in sturdy bags by their mailboxes. The letter carriers will not only deliver mail on that day but also collect the food donations.
Nationwide, some 210,000 letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns are expected to participate.
Last year, Rowan County collected more than 16,450 pounds of food. This year’s goal is to exceed that amount, organizers said.
“It’s a great cause. The agencies in Salisbury and Rowan benefit from it,” said local coordinator Dennis Sims.
Sims said because of the economy, the need is greater, and he hopes people continue to participate this year.
Once the goods are collected, Sims will sort the items, and they’ll be divided among Rowan Helping Ministries, the Salvation Army of Rowan County and Main Street Mission in China Grove.
“The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is important for our local communities because it helps stock food banks and pantries for summer, a time when there’s an increased need for food assistance, especially for children who are out of school,” Fredric V. Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said in a news release. “The letter carriers are committed to supporting the drive by picking up and delivering food donations to local Feeding America food banks and hunger-relief organizations in their markets.”
The U.S. Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association have joined with the National Association of Letter Carriers as official sponsors. Other sponsors include Campbell Soup Co., Feeding America, Valpak, AFL-CIO and the United Way.