Media Contact:
Les Sinclair
lsinclair@brafb.org
434-962-5403

The food drive, hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is the nation’s largest one-day food collection effort.

VERONA, Va. (May 1, 2024) – The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is encouraging community members to participate in the annual Stamp Out Hunger (SOH) food drive on Saturday, May 11, by donating food and volunteering at a local collection site.

SOH is the nation’s largest one-day food collection effort, hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Last year, SOH collected 115,019 pounds of food for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which helped us provide more than 115,859 meals to neighbors living with food insecurity.

The Food Bank is also seeking volunteers to help collect and sort food donations at post offices in Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Charlottesville. Volunteer shifts will run between 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., depending on the location.

Those wishing to give can leave non-perishable food items at their mailbox (early) for their postal carrier to pick up on Saturday, May 11. The most needed food donations include canned fruits, meats, and vegetables low in sodium and sugar. Giving paper products, diapers, and personal care items is also encouraged. Please avoid any glass items or those requiring refrigeration.

“This year’s Stamp Out Hunger event comes at a critical time. The Food Bank is seeing a surge in the need for food assistance across our 25-county service area. We’ll use this donated food to replenish our shelves for the coming summer months when school-based nutrition resources won’t be available,” said Michael McKee, CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “We can’t thank the letter carriers enough for bringing together the community to help provide food for thousands of meals.”

Rising costs of necessities like food, housing, child care, and gasoline contribute to greater numbers of people turning to the Food Bank and its pantry network for assistance. From July – December 2023 we saw a 31% increase in guest visits. When you give food you nourish health—a simple act with profound impact.

Since 1994 the letter carriers in our area have collected 2,481,430 pounds of food, helping the Food Bank provide 2,087,858 meals to neighbors in our community.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Verona, Virginia, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is the largest organization alleviating hunger in western and central Virginia. The Food Bank receives an average of 127,500 guest visits per month, serving 25 counties and eight cities through distribution centers in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Winchester, and Verona. We’re serving record numbers of Virginians through our network of more than 400 community partners, which includes food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, schools, libraries, healthcare clinics, community centers, and more.

We pledge to continue innovating and adapting to secure, store, and distribute more food to more individuals, families, children, and seniors experiencing hunger. The Food Bank is a partner food bank of Feeding America®, a national association with a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries, and meal programs. Last year, this charitable food assistance network helped provide 5.3 billion meals to tens of millions of people facing food insecurity. For more information, visit www.brafb.org.

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