Local letter carriers collecting donations for Blue Ridge Area Food Bank Saturday, May 11

STAUNTON — This time of year, about four months after the holiday season has ended, is the low point for many organizations that collect food donations. People are extremely generous over the holidays, donating food to various drives, but, by late spring, much of that food has been used. Unfortunately, the need for the food doesn't end.

So an event like Stamp Out Hunger, happening Saturday, May 11, is important for many reasons.

"Having a large food drive that really brings the community together in action and in service is really important for us," said Livia Marrs, the food drive manager for and a volunteer with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. "It brings people back to thinking about the food bank and giving food. So it's really important for us, especially right now as we're distributing more food than ever."

The annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive on Saturday, May 11 is the nation’s largest one-day food collection effort, hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Last year, locally, the event collected 115,019 pounds of food for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, helping the organization provide more than 115,859 meals to neighbors living with food insecurity.

The event happens rain or shine.

Staunton resident and a former letter carrier, Cindy Connors, coordinates the local effort.

"What we ask folks to do is put nonperishable food donations at their mailbox on the morning of May 11," Connors said. "Then the letters carriers and volunteers do the rest."

All of the donations stay local, redistributed throughout the community by the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

The most needed food donations include canned fruits, meats, and vegetables low in sodium and sugar. Giving paper products, diapers, and personal care items is also encouraged. Please avoid any glass items or those requiring refrigeration.

Marrs said if people are having trouble deciding what to donate, just think about what they like to eat.

"That's what we always like to say," she said. "We want to giving back to people foods that they want to be eating."

Connors said the number of people who are food insecure continues to grow in the area.

"The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank uses this food to build emergency boxes for people in immediate need," Connors said. "So it's very much needed."

The Food Bank is also seeking volunteers to help collect and sort food donations at post offices in Staunton, Waynesboro, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and Charlottesville. Volunteer shifts will run between 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., depending on the location.

“This year’s Stamp Out Hunger event comes at a critical time. The Food Bank is seeing a surge in the need for food assistance across our 25-county service area. We’ll use this donated food to replenish our shelves for the coming summer months when school-based nutrition resources won’t be available,” said Michael McKee, CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “We can’t thank the letter carriers enough for bringing together the community to help provide food for thousands of meals.”

Rising costs of necessities like food, housing, child care, and gasoline contribute to greater numbers of people turning to the Food Bank and its pantry network for assistance. From July-December 2023 the organization saw a 31% increase in guest visits.

Since 1994 the letter carriers in our area have collected 2,481,430 pounds of food, helping the Food Bank provide 2,087,858 meals to neighbors in our community.

A full list of needed food items and volunteer opportunities can be found at brafb.org/ event/stamp-out-hunger.

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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Stamp Out Hunger: Local letter carriers collecting food Saturday, May 11