Daily printout: May 19

Postal Service employees around the nation picked up bags of food donated by customers for their communities during this year’s Stamp Out Hunger drive, held May 9.

The National Association of Letter Carriers leads the annual event, with help from USPS and other organizations. Since its launch in 1993, Stamp Out Hunger has grown into the nation’s largest one-day food drive, with all donations going to local food banks and pantries.

“This is a cause that is dear to my heart. … I promote the food drive all year long, not just on this one day. I have customers on my route who need help and I tell them how they can get help,” said Catrisia Wilkins, a letter carrier in Livonia, MI.

This year’s drive was particularly meaningful for Lorraine Simpkins, a Belleville, MI, letter carrier. “My father was homeless when he was a child and lived with his family in their car. I’m so proud this year our Post Office chose to donate the food we collect to a homeless shelter,” she said.

Many communities, including those in California’s San Diego County, reported bringing back thousands of pounds of donated food to their Post Offices.

“This food will help support children, families and seniors across our region during a time when many households are struggling,” Casey Castillo, CEO of the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, told the local NBC affiliate.

Employees aren’t the only ones lending a hand — retirees take part, too.

“I come back every year to help,” said Diane Fehringer, a 26-year USPS veteran who helped in Roseville, MI.

Even schoolchildren get involved. The Post Office Club at Pine Tree Elementary School in Monroe, NY, worked with Stamp Out Hunger to collect food for their local pantry, said Victoria Smyth, a lead sales associate in Warwick, NY, whose daughter is a member of the club.

Organizers are expected to report this year’s final tally by mid-June.

Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.

The Postal Service is encouraging customers to spruce up their mailboxes during Mailbox Improvement Week, which begins Tuesday, May 19.

Mailboxes should be fully operational, able to protect mail from the weather, safe to use, conveniently located and neat in appearance.

They should also be large enough to support the customer’s daily mail and package volume — within allowable size limits — and be of a design approved by the postmaster general.

In addition to aiding the Postal Service, mailbox improvement adds to an area’s aesthetics.

USPS holds Mailbox Improvement Week each year during the third week of May.

Postal Bulletin’s May 14 edition has more information and detailed specifications.