Senator Flanagan Supports USPS Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

New York State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) is once again supporting the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) during the 26th Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.  On Saturday, May 12th, letter carriers throughout the nation will be collecting donations of non-perishable items along their normal route to help families in need.

To help the letter carriers in this charitable endeavor, Senator Flanagan’s office will be serving as a collection point for this important effort.  The office will be accepting donations at 260 Middle Country Road in Smithtown from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday through Friday, May 11th.

For residents who prefer to make their donation at their residence, items will be collected during normal mail routes on Saturday, May 12th.  All donations should be placed by the mailbox or at the front door to allow for easy pickup.  While most post offices are participating in the program, residents are encouraged to check with their personal mail carrier to confirm participation.      

This event provides food banks, pantries and shelters with needed supplies so they can accomplish their goal of helping those in need.  According to the NALC, last year’s drive collected 75 million pounds of nonperishable food.  That brings the total amount of food donated through this special program to over 1.6 billion pounds since it began a quarter-century ago.

According to the NALC, the most requested non-perishable foods include:

• Cereal
• Pasta
• Pasta Sauce
• Rice
• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Canned meals such as soups, chili, pasta 
• 100% juice
• Peanut butter 
• Macaroni & cheese
• Canned protein – tuna, chicken, turkey
• Beans – canned or dry

They also recommend donating healthy, low-sodium, low-sugar items such as beans, oatmeal and other whole grains, and canola or olive oil.

The organization asks residents to avoid donating expired items, frozen food, homemade food, home-canned items, or food in glass jars.  They also noted that, in keeping with good food-handling and food-safety procedures, food that is opened, damaged, out of code or does not have the official ingredients included will be discarded by the food bank in the sorting process.

“This selfless effort by the men and women of the United States Postal Service will help provide food banks, pantries and shelters with essential supplies to accomplish their goal of helping those in need.  By helping restock these necessary resources, the USPS will help ensure that struggling families will be able to get the assistance they need and we extend our thanks to everyone at the USPS for this yearly effort,” stated Senator Flanagan.  “We are proud to join with the USPS to play a small role in this year’s food drive and invite everyone in our community who can help to visit our office to donate to this worthwhile cause.”

Residents who would like more information can click here.