The National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive needs an addendum. It’s also a fund drive. For every $1 donated to the Clark County Food Bank, the nonprofit can provide up to four meals to food-insecure households.
While people have always been encouraged to donate money during the annual food drive in May, this year the food bank expects a boost in financial donations. In addition to the regular reminder cards sent to residential mailboxes, this year donation envelopes are being mailed to P.O. boxes and businesses to solicit funds.
“We’re already seeing a return on those envelopes,” said Matt Edmonds, spokesman for the Clark County Food Bank.
Last year, during the Stamp Out Hunger food drive, the bank received $680 in donations without any donation envelopes being mailed.
The drive also netted 139,000 pounds of food. It’s the second largest single-day food drive in Clark County behind December’s Walk & Knock.
The National Association of Letter Carriers is holding food drives all around the country. Don Young, the local organizer, was a letter carrier for 43 years and has been involved with the food drive since the 1990s. Every year his goal is the same: 200,000 pounds of food.
Edmonds said the food bank can use any sort of nonperishable food, but shelf-stable protein such as canned tuna, canned chicken and peanut butter are in high demand. That’s because they’re healthy sources of protein and also among the groceries that families tight on cash may forgo.
Most households should receive yellow plastic bags in their mailbox within the next few days. Donors are asked to set their food donations in the bag next to their mailbox by 9 a.m. Saturday; they will be picked up either by a letter carrier or a volunteer. If you can’t set out food Saturday or it doesn’t get picked up that day, that’s OK; donations can be set out anytime this week or next week.
Young said he still needs volunteers and is particularly interested in people with large vehicles who could pick up food donations and haul them to post offices.
“All Clark County post offices have some participation in the food drive, even the little dinky towns,” he said.
That includes Yacolt, Ariel, Amboy and Brush Prairie. Historically, there’s been a friendly competition between the Camas and Washougal post offices and between Vancouver’s central and east side post offices to see which office collects the most food.
Last year, 116,819 people in the county accessed food assistance — a bit less than a fourth of the population. The food bank received about 6.4 million pounds of food, most from grocery stores, the Oregon Food Bank, the USDA and companies such as United Natural Foods. Almost a half-million pounds came from food drives such as Stamp Out Hunger.
