527,000 lbs. of food collected during Stamp Out Hunger food drive

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — The Hunger Task Force has announced totals for Milwaukee County for their largest one-day food drive of the year -- the National Association of Letter Carriers’ “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive.

This past Saturday, May 11, 527,000 pounds of food were collected in Milwaukee County by the local chapter of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Pioneer Branch 2.

This number is up from last year’s initial amount of 474,015 pounds collected locally, but food donations will continue to rise this week as food continues to be collected from local post offices and apartment buildings.

Additionally, Milwaukee area Pick 'n Save locations are featuring Hunger Task Force donation boxes through May 20 for those who forgot to donate on Saturday.

According to Sherrie Tussler, Executive Director of Hunger Task Force, “We want to thank postal customers all over Milwaukee County for helping feed a hungry neighbor. Stamp Out Hunger is the biggest one-day food drive for us and we want to make sure those who donated know they are making a difference. We also want to recognize that we couldn’t run this food drive the way we do without the partnership of Johnson Controls and Kohl’s Cares.”

The National Association of Letter Carriers food drive is a one-day event held annually the second Saturday of May.

The food collected will help Hunger Task Force feed the hungry during the summer, which is a high-risk time period for hunger because children are not receiving school meals. Nearly 5,000 letter carriers collected food for those in need across the state.

Local and statewide totals for the 2013 food drive continue to be tabulated and will be released once they are available.

Stamp Out Hunger is sponsored locally by Johnson Controls and Kohl’s Cares.