POSTAL WORKERS TO COLLECT DONATED FOODSTUFFS DOOR-TO-DOOR ON SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2008
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed today joined members of the Harrisburg Branch 500 of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the U.S. Postal Service in kicking off the 2008 National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive, which encourages the donation of non-perishable foodstuffs to the South Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and other regional food banks. The Harrisburg Area Drive is being conducted on Saturday, May 10, 2008, in association with the U.S. Postal Service, the United Way of the Capital Region, the AFL-CIO and America’s Second Harvest.
The Mayor said residents throughout the Greater Harrisburg Area can participate in the food drive simply by placing non-perishable food items such as canned and boxed goods next to their mailbox or mail slot on Saturday, May 10, only. Letter carriers will collect the items for delivery to the groups that feed the hungry throughout the midstate.
"This food drive is about feeding the hungry, the majority of whom are children, right here in our community," said Mayor Reed. "There are a multitude of persons within this region that struggle to have enough food to eat on a daily basis. The Food Drive helps to significantly alleviate those problems, and we strongly encourage everyone to participate."
Reed said the City of Harrisburg served as the pilot city for the first Food Drive in 1991 and its success here led to its adoption on a nationwide basis in 1992 by the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Postal Service, the AFL-CIO and the United Way of America. In 2007, nearly 71 million pounds of food were collected by 1,500 NALC local branches nationwide last year, with nearly 40,000 pounds of food collected in Harrisburg and the surrounding communities.
In the 16 years since the first drive, it is estimated that more than 800 million pounds of food have been collected from 10,000 communities across the nation, with nearly seven million pounds contributed locally.
"We salute the letter carriers and the U.S. Postal Service for their extraordinary commitment to making this happen. What began in Harrisburg has become a measurable way to address a very real issue throughout America," Reed said.
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