Postal Service employees collected 71.6 million pounds of food for people in need during this year’s Stamp Out Hunger drive.
The results were reported July 12 by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which leads the annual one-day campaign.
“Every day on our routes, letter carriers see the struggles many people have with providing for their basic needs. We are honored to be able to contribute to the families and the communities we serve by helping millions of Americans who otherwise would face hunger,” said NALC President Fredric Rolando.
The 2018 drive, which was held May 12, marks the 15th year that food donations have exceeded 70 million pounds.
Employees collected 75.3 million pounds last year. Since it began in 1993, the food drive has collected more than 1.6 billion pounds.
Stamp Out Hunger donations are provided to local food banks and pantries in 10,000 communities across the nation.
The drive is held in the spring because many school breakfast and lunch programs are about to be suspended for the summer, leaving millions of children to find alternative sources of nutrition.
According to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, 42 million people in the United States — including 13 million children — struggle with hunger.