Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Stocks UCM Pantry

Photo caption: Celebrating a day of hard work collecting community donations for the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive at the Alexandria Post Office Annex are: Postal Supervisor Dan Sanders; UCM Volunteer Rick Basham; Brian McCormick, Food Drive Coordinator, Union Branch 567, National Association of Letter Carriers; and Postal Supervisor Willie Parker. Click here to read our press release (pdf).

The 23rd annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive took place throughout our community on Saturday, May 9, to stock local food pantries for the upcoming summer months.Stamp Out Hunger is the nation’s largest single-day food collection, hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers with other sponsors.

Local Letter Carriers from Union Branch 567 (Alexandria city and parts of southeastern Fairfax County) collected bags of food donations by their customers’ mailboxes and partnered with local pantries. This year, United Community Ministries (UCM) received more than 5 tons* of food collected at Alexandria area post offices. (* revised total)

Letter Carrier Brian McCormick of Union Branch 567, National Association of Letter Carriers, works at the Alexandria Post Office Annex at Telegraph Road. He serves as the Food Drive Coordinator and champion for the event to shed light on fighting local hunger. “My fellow Letter Carriers really get into it and enjoy seeing who can bring in the most food donations,” he says.

“We are very grateful to the local Letter Carriers for their ongoing support to fight hunger here in our neighborhoods,” says Richard Dobber, UCM Director of Social Services. “And we thank our volunteers who worked long hours on Saturday. We appreciate the large quantity of healthy food items we received this year from so many caring community members, including low-salt canned goods like vegetables and sauces, whole wheat pasta, low-sugar cereals, nuts, and energy bars.”

On a typical week day, 80 to 100 families visit UCM’s Food Pantry for supplemental groceries to help them make ends meet. Dobber continues, “We always have a need for individuals and groups who will sponsor food drives or contribute funds directly so that we can purchase food at discounted prices from our partners. When you donate funds designated to the Food Pantry and encourage your friends and colleagues to do so, we call that a ‘virtual’ food drive. You can even donate online at www.ucmagency.org.”

To organize a food drive – or Virtual Food Drive – to benefit UCM’s families, contact Marcos Castillo at volunteer@ucmagency.org or 571.255-8979.

United Community Ministries (UCM) mobilizes the power of community to equip, educate, and empower people to measurably improve their lives. For the past 46 years, UCM has provided a vital connection between people in need and the people committed to helping them thrive. Services include:

· Immediate Help. For families and individuals in crisis, UCM provides food, financial aid, and counseling.

· Education and Employment. Services such as job training and coaching, full-day early care and learning, ESL and citizenship classes, and parental education help people achieve stability.

· Community Engagement. UCM’s neighborhood centers, with after-school programs and leadership training, engage youth and families in broader social networks for success.

In Fiscal Year 2014, thanks to generous community support, UCM provided life-changing assistance in southeastern Fairfax County to more than 11,000 individuals in 4,152 families.