A friendly reminder: Feed your mailbox today.

[Gormy Cuss]

Today, May 12 is the annual USPS letter carriers' food drive.
If you received a postcard with the Family Circus cartoon, your local carriers are participating.
It's an easy way to donate to your local foodbanks and pantries.

http://www.nalc.org/commun/foodrive/

The food will be collected in over 10,000 communities by nearly 1,500 local branches of the postal union, along with rural carriers and other volunteers. Donations will be delivered to food banks, pantries and shelters that serve the area where the donations are collected.

Since its inception in 1993, the nationwide drive has collected and delivered over three-quarters of a billion pounds of food—765.5 million pounds—to help hungry families.

NALC President William H. Young noted that the upcoming summer months “are a particularly critical time for millions of children whose school lunch programs are suspended until fall and their families must find alternate sources of nutrition.”

“Letter carriers see these families every day as they deliver the mail,” Young said. “This food drive is one way we can help alleviate their plight and we encourage our postal patrons to participate by leaving donations by their mailbox on May 12.”

Residents will be asked to leave non-perishable donations—such as canned meat, fish and soup, and cereals, pasta and rice—in a bag near their mailbox on Saturday, May 12 before their letter carrier arrives. It will be taken to the local post office and then delivered to a local food bank, pantry or shelter.

[InvisibleTouch]

1. Thanks for the reminder!

I left a bag of canned/boxed food out this morning. Once again I seem to be the only person in my housing complex who bothered, even though I'm fairly sure my neighbors are better off than I am. Oh well....

[EstimatedProphet]

2. We've got a bag ready to go

[bigwillq]

3. We just put our bag out!

:bounce:

[philosophie_en_rose]

4. Thanks!

I've had this bag ready for a week and was just about to leave the house without putting it out.

[Nikia]

5. Thanks for reminding me

Just put the bag out.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. kick

:kick: :kick: :kick:

[NMDemDist2]

7. thanks for the reminder

I'll put a bag together before I head out!

[EFerrari]

8. Anyone have recs for healthy packaged food?

Besides whole grain rice and cereal, lower sodium soup, tinned salman and tuna? I don't want to pack up a bag of high blood pressure or diabetes!

[Gormy Cuss]

10. Many canned veggies and beans have no added sodium versions these days.

Canned fruit in juice rather than syrup, too. Neither are as good for you as fresh, but they're better than the canned food of our youth.

Some other ideas that I remember from my mother, who was a dedicated food pantry volunteer:

Baby food (cereal, plastic jars of veggies and fruit)
Plastic jars of honey (a real treat for families)
Pancake mix
Flavored instant milk (again, a treat for the kiddies with a protein punch)
Fruit juices

[EFerrari]

11. Good call. Thanks. n/t

[buddhamama]

9. thanks for the reminder

my bags are out and waiting for pickup. :hi:

[WCGreen]

12. We gave good stuff.....

A big jar of Jiffy Peanut Butter...
A lb of coffee...
Three big rolls of Paper Towells...
Lots of Tuna...
Lw sodium, Helthy Choice soups...
Tomato sauce and paste...
Three boxes of Pasta...


Costco is great, we start buying stuff in March so we can add the stuff to here in May and not just clean out the pantry as so many do...

[Gormy Cuss]

13. Good idea to buy ahead.

Starting a few months ahead means that you can take advantage of sale prices and buy more for that donation with the same number of dollars.

I remember reading a suggestion to add something to your cart once a week and stash it for food drives. Seems like another easy way to accumulate goods to donate.

[undeterred]

14. thanks for the reminder

I knew about it but I would have forgotten if you didn't post this

[Kajsa]

15. Done.

Thanks for the reminder.

:hi: