Food Lion, the Lowcountry Food Bank and the National Association of Letter Carriers kick off the “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive

All households encouraged to leave shelf-stable food in mailboxes on Saturday, May 11, for distribution to those who struggle with hunger

The 27th annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive will take place across South Carolina on May 11. This food drive is the largest one-day food drive in the country. A kick-off ceremony took place this morning at the Lowcountry Food Bank to bring awareness to the upcoming food drive. Representatives from Food Lion, the Lowcountry Food Bank and the National Association of Letter carriers were in attendance.

On Saturday, May 11, more than 100 Lowcountry Food Bank staff and volunteers will be on hand at each local post office throughout the Charleston area to meet all 427 local letter carriers who will bring in food throughout the day from their daily routes collected from household mailboxes.

Volunteers will be at post offices across the area to offload and sort food donations from the Charleston tri-county area. The Lowcountry Food Bank anticipates this year’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive will collect more than 115,000 pounds of food that will be distributed back into the community for those who are food insecure.

In 2018, Stamp Out Hunger collected 115,756 pounds of food for the tri-county area, which created 96,465 meals for food insecure children, seniors, and families. As the corporate sponsor for the food drive, Food Lion has provided a donation of 26,000 meals and donation bags for postal carriers to distribute to household mailboxes in the days before the event. The bags filled with food donations will then be collected on May 11 by the National Association of Letter Carriers and delivered to the Lowcountry Food Bank to be sorted and distributed back to our community.

“We’re so proud to partner with organizations like the Lowcountry Food Bank and the National Letter Carriers Association, who are working to end hunger in the communities we serve through Stamp Out Hunger,” said Billy Harcum, Charleston Director of Operations for Food Lion. “We hope our customers and the community will join us in supporting Stamp Out Hunger, which will bring much needed food to those who need it here in the Charleston area.”

“Stamp Out Hunger comes at a critical time for us,” said Pat Walker, President and CEO of the Lowcountry Food Bank. “The need for food assistance increases as we approach a time of year when food donations are low, and children who rely on free or reduced price school meals do not have access to them during the summer,” she said. “Gas and utility costs rise this time of year and vulnerable members of our community feel the financial strain of feeding their families.”

If a household does not receive a bag in their mailbox, they can leave shelf-stable food at their door and their letter carrier will pick it up. If your home has a community mailbox bank, donations may be left there.

Contacts:
Jill Hirsekorn, Lowcountry Food Bank, Director of Communications, 843-819-5115
Benny Smith, Media and Community Relations Director, Food Lion, 704-310-4077

About the Lowcountry Food Bank: Feed. Advocate. Empower.

The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 30.5 million pounds of food in 2018. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps fight hunger by distributing food to nearly 300 partner agencies including soup kitchens, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank is a member of the national Feeding America network. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who are food insecure and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information go to www.lowcountryfoodbank.org.
 
About Food Lion

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,000 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has committed to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020. Food Lion is a company of Delhaize America, a U.S. division of Zaandam-based Royal Ahold Delhaize Group. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.
 
About “Stamp Out Hunger”

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive and is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.