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This year's drive brought the first increase in donations
since the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and ensuing
economic downturn that had a devastating across-the-board
effect on charitable donations throughout the United States.
Donations plummeted in 2002 to 61.7 million pounds, and
dropped another 1 million pounds last year.
Final results from the drive in more than 10,000 cities
and towns in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions showed
70,852,149 pounds of non-perishable food was collected from
postal customers along mail routes on May 8, the nation's
largest one-day effort to combat hunger. The total eclipsed
the previous record, set in May, 2001, by nearly 2 million
pounds.
The collection by letter carriers as they delivered mail
was augmented by a contribution of 1 million cans of soup
by Campbell Soup Company, a major supporter of the drive
along with the U.S. Postal Service.
Buffalo/Western New York NALC Branch 3, which collected
1,751,470 pounds of donations, was the top NALC local branch
in the drive for the second consecutive year.
NALC President William H. Young thanked the millions of
American families who left food by their mailboxes and the
thousands of letter carriers, rural carriers, and other
postal employees and volunteers who collected and processed
the donations for community food banks.
"The generosity of Americans
in this food drive was truly remarkable," Young said.
"Many food banks and pantries were desperate for
supplies and now will be able to continue helping needy
families throughout the summer months."
The postal union is also joining with America's Second
Harvest in observance of National Hunger Awareness Day on
June 3 to encourage continued citizen donations to local
food banks throughout the remainder of the year.
Young thanked the U.S. Postal Service and Campbell Soup
Company, who together supplied 109 million postcards to
promote the drive, as well as other major supporters: Valpak,
the direct mail marketing firm; America's Second Harvest,
the nation's largest network of food banks; United Way of
America and its local United Ways; the AFL-CIO, and cartoonist
Bil Keane, who yearly provides a special "Family Circus"
drawing for the drive.
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