Donations Help Stock Pantries Across the Country During Key Summer Months
CAMDEN, N.J., May 3, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) — On Saturday, May 8, Campbell Soup Company will join forces with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) to Stamp Out Hunger! across America. Stamp Out Hunger! is the nation’s largest single-day food drive and has netted nearly 600 million pounds of food for the needy since its inception in 1992.
To help Stamp Out Hunger! on May 8, simply leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, like canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal, next to your mailbox before the time of regular mail delivery. Also, make sure that food items are in non-breakable containers, such as boxes and cans. The nation’s 240,000 letter carriers will then collect the donations and deliver them to food banks and pantries in their local communities. Participation in Stamp Out Hunger! is an easy and convenient way to help alleviate hunger in the more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions where letter carriers work each day.
“Stamp Out Hunger! is a simple way for people across the United States to help one another,” said Larry McWilliams, President, US Soups, Sauces & Beverages. “Food banks need to be replenished constantly, especially in the summer months when supplies are often low. Stamp Out Hunger! comes at a perfect time to help make sure that food banks are prepared for those summer shortages. ”
According to America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, 23 million people, including 9 million children, live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents one in 10 households in the United States.
To encourage postal customers to donate food on May 8, Campbell and the United States Postal Service (USPS) sponsored the production of a reminder postcard being mailed to more than 105 million homes. This mailing, to generate awareness and participation for this year’s Stamp Out Hunger!, is one of the five largest mailings in the country, according to the USPS, just behind the U.S. census and federal income tax forms.
Campbell has also enlisted the help of Olympic gold medalist figure skater Sarah Hughes to help get the word out about the food drive to homes across the country. Hughes will appear in a nationally distributed public service announcement that will remind people about Stamp Out Hunger! and explain how donations will be picked up. Hughes also teamed up with Campbell and the NALC for the 2003 effort.
“The more than 240,000 letter carriers across the country are proud to serve the communities that we walk through every day,” said William H. Young, NALC president. “Serious hunger affects many of our neighbors, but with food donations from our customers on May 8 and the help of Campbell Soup Company, we can make a tangible difference in the fight against hunger.”
For more information about Stamp Out Hunger! in your community, ask your letter carrier, contact your local post office or visit www.nalc.org.
SOURCE: Campbell Soup Company
Weber Shandwick Worldwide Jerry Gleason, 312-988-2277 [email protected] or Campbell Soup Company Beth Jolly, 856-968-4301 [email protected]
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