Postal Workers Aim to 'Stamp Out Hunger'

As letter carriers in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff load their trucks Saturday morning, they and other postal employees across the country will be thinking of the people being helped. 

The U.S. Postal Service,National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and other organizations are teaming up to fight hunger for the 20^th annual Stamp Out Hunger in America event. The Postal Service touts this is the nation’s largest single-day food drive in local communities across America.

Lake Forest and Lake Bluff residents are asked to leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods next to their mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday (May 12).

Letter carriers will then take the donated food, which will be distributed to the Shields Township Food Pantry among others. Donations can also be dropped off this Saturday at the Lake Forest Post Office, 230 Northgate St., 8 a.m. to noon; Lake Forest Annex, 27848 N. Bradley Road, 8 a.m. to noon; or the Lake Bluff Post Office, 26 E. Scranton Ave., 9 a.m to noon.

“I am confident the 2012 campaign will be our best ever because the need continues to grow,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said. 

The Postal Service said that last year, letter carriers around the country collected 70.2 million pounds of food last year, all donated by customers on their delivery routes. The year 2011 marked the eighth consecutive year the total food collection was at least
 70 million pounds.

The Stamp Out Hunger food drive began at the local level in the 1980s and went nationwide in 1992. To learn more, head to http://www.helpstampouthunger.com/