The snow
and rain on Saturday, May 10 didn’t stop the generosity of the
Bemidji community helping to give a hand-up to those in our area who
face hunger.
Bemidji Area
Letter Carriers collected 5,600 pounds of non-perishable food benefiting the
Bemidji Area Community Food Shelf during the 16th annual “Stamp
Out Hunger” Food Drive.
The Bemidji Area Letter Carriers and United Way of Bemidji Area would like
to thank everyone who recognized the need and donated to the cause. A
special appreciation goes to the Boys Scouts for volunteering their time on
Saturday to help unload and sort all of the donations that were delivered to
the Bemidji Area Community Food Shelf.
The results of
annual Stamp Out Hunger! Drive, conducted by the National Association
of Letter Carriers, provide food to local food banks and pantries, which
would otherwise have depleted stocks during the summer months. Stamp
Out Hunger! is the nation's largest single-day food drive, with letter
carriers having collected more than 836 million pounds of food from postal
customers since its inception.
Save-the-date for next year's food drive:
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Why we need your
help -
According to America's Second Harvest - The Nation's
Food Bank Network, more than 35 million people are food insecure,
hungry or at risk of hunger. Approximately one in four people in a
soup kitchen line is a child.
How you can help -
Simply leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, such as
canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal next to your
mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on the second
Saturday in May. Food items should be in non-breakable containers,
such as boxes and cans. Local letter carriers will then collect
donations from homes across the city and deliver them to Bemidji
Community Food Shelf.
For more information and resources visit the
Stamp Out Hunger!
web site
Look under Downloads for valuable
resources, flyer, collection charts, etc.
Teachers can get their students involved by downloading a collection
chart for their classroom.
History of the
Bemidji’s food drive:
2001 - 7,059 pounds of
food collected
2002 – 5,500 pounds of
food collected
2003 – 4,600 pounds of
food collected
2005 - 5,200 pounds of
food collected
2006 - 4,800 pounds of
food collected
2007 - 6,235 pounds of food
collected
2008- 5,600 pounds of food collected
National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive