This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On Saturday, the Postal Service and its letter carriers will stage their annual food drive.
Utahns are encouraged to participate by placing nonperishable food items in bags, and leaving them by their mailboxes before mail delivery. All food collected will go to local food banks and pantries.
Examples of items are peanut butter, canned soup, canned meats, canned vegetables, fruits and juices, boxed goods (such as cereal), pasta and rice. Do not donate items that have passed expiration dates or are in glass containers.
This is the 21st year for the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which has collected more than 1 billion pounds of food. Last year, Americans donated more than 70 million pounds, including 1 million in the Beehive state.
The food drive is part of a nationwide drive designed to fill food bank pantries through the summer months, when levels are traditionally low. The effort by the USPS, members of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Rural Letter Carriers and other volunteers is the largest one-day food drive in the nation.
More than 50 million Americans, including 17 million children, are food insecure, meaning they live at risk of hunger. In Utah, an estimated 137,824 households face food insecurity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For more information about the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, visit http://www.helpstampouthunger.com or http://www.facebook.com/stampouthunger, and follow the drive at http://www.twitter.com/stampouthunger.