Stamp Out Hunger Online: National Association of Letter Carriers Virtual Campaign to Benefit Food Bank of South Jersey

What happens when 200,000 pounds of donated food items – disappears? Every year, the nation’s largest food drive, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Stamp Out Hunger, results in tens of thousands of pounds of donated food items for the Food Bank of South Jersey to distribute throughout Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties.

Last year, these donated food items, thanks to Stamp Out Hunger, brought nearly 200,000 pounds of food to the Food Bank. This year, due to the impact of COVID-19, Stamp Out Hunger is dramatically different. The nation’s largest food drive is now totally online.

What is Stamp Out Hunger 2020?

• Typically, as summer pushes forward each year, local food banks, including the Food Bank of South Jersey, normally would be well-stocked, benefiting from the more than 70 million pounds of food collected from the NALC’s annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, held every May for the past 27 years.
• The global pandemic, however, forced the postponement of this year’s May 9 food drive for safety reasons, even as the pandemic-related economic shutdown worsened food insecurity throughout the United States.
• To deal with this urgent hunger crisis, the NALC developed a new plan to address the problem of hunger that impacts one in eight Americans, including millions of children, elderly and military veterans – a virtual food drive campaign, allowing donations to food banks and food pantries across the United States, including the Food Bank of South Jersey. “As letter carriers in every neighborhood in the country, we see the need and we cannot wait while food banks struggle, demand grows and people remain hungry,” NALC President Fredric Rolando stated at the June announcement of the virtual campaign. “Once it is safe, we will return to the traditional food drive.”

Stamp Out Hunger Online

Stamp Out Hunger will continue to make an impact in South Jersey through online donations. You can still be a part of the nation’s largest one-day food drive by making a contribution online at donate.foodbanksj.org/SOH20 or by starting your own virtual food drive to encourage your friends and family to Stamp Out Hunger in South Jersey. To see how Stamp Out Hunger is helping the Food Bank of South Jersey this year, click here.

The 290,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country’s oldest labor unions. For more information, visit www.nalc.org.

ABOUT FOOD BANK OF SOUTH JERSEY

Marking its 35th year in 2020, the Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) is the leader in providing safe and nutritional food to people in need throughout South Jersey. FBSJ distributes food, provides nutrition education and cooking courses, and helps food-insecure families and seniors find sustainable ways to improve their lives. Throughout 2019, FBSJ distributed over 15 million pounds of food, more than 230,000 summer meals and over 17,500 senior food boxes, as well as serving 95 health and wellness programs to more than 11,700 residents. Providing community impact through local support, FBSJ ensures that local donations stay local. FBSJ is a member of Feeding America, our nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.

During 2020, with COVID-19 bringing school closures, stay-at-home orders, record-breaking unemployment and rising poverty, FBSJ within the first 120 days of response to the COVID-19 crisis distributed more than seven million pounds of food throughout its four-county region of impact, including the distribution of more than 34,500 emergency food boxes to food-insecure populations, increasing its partner agency network to over 200 and serving over 94,000 food-insecure South Jersey residents each month, including the distribution of more than 218,375 nutritious breakfasts and lunches to more than 35,000 food-insecure South Jersey children. To learn more, visit www.foodbanksj.org. On Twitter, follow the Food Bank of South Jersey @foodbankSJ.