Second Harvest is joining forces with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) to help Stamp Out Hunger in Santa Cruz County. Now in its 20th year, the annual food drive is a nationwide effort that provides assistance to millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table. In 2011, 70.2 million pounds of food were raised!
You can help by leaving a sturdy bag of non-perishable foods next to your mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 12th. Canned soups and stews, vegetables, protein such as tuna and peanut butter, pasta, beans, rice and cereal are good items to include.
Local letter carriers will collect these food donations as they deliver the mail and econd Harvest will distribute the food through our network of 200 agencies and programs across Santa Cruz County.
“In 2011 our county alone raised over 42,000 pounds of food during Stamp Out Hunger and we’re asking everyone to pitch in to make this year an even greater success,” said Danny Keith, Chief Development & Technology Officer of Second Harvest Food Bank.
The need for food assistance continues to exist in every community in America. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual study measuring food security in the United States, the number of Americans living in food insecure homes reached nearly 49 million in 2011. Perhaps most alarming is the fact that more than 16 million children in America—more than one in five—are faced with the prospect of hunger. Here in Santa Cruz County the number is one in four.
