Local Letter Carriers Collect More Than 68,000 Pounds of Food to Stamp Out Hunger
STUART, Fla. – US Postal Service workers usually drop off items, but on Saturday, May 13, they picked up items----more than 68,000 pounds of non-perishable items---from mailboxes throughout Martin County.
Stamp Out Hunger is an annual tradition across the country. It was started in 1993 by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and has helped feed millions of American over three decades.
Each May, local letter carriers willingly pick up the bags of items that residents leave by their mailboxes and transport them back to their post office branch. From there, dozens of House of Hope volunteers helped unload the bags and put the items in bins. Additional volunteers pick up the bins in trucks and transport them back to House of Hope’s main office.
“We can’t say enough good things about our local letter carriers,” said House of Hope CEO Rob Ranieri. “In addition to their real jobs of delivering the mail, on Stamp Out Hunger Saturday, they also gather, lift, and transport cans and boxes of food to help their friends and neighbors in need. We’re grateful to them and to every resident who donated.”
House of Hope continues to see more and more families and individuals who need food assistance. “Between the after-effects of the pandemic and the rise in the cost of basic items like food,” Ranieri said, “our services are more in demand than ever.”
The food collected during the Stamp Out Hunger drive will be used at the House of Hope service centers in Stuart, Jensen Beach, Hobe Sound and Indiantown and will be shared with House of Hope food bank partners.
About House of Hope
Founded in 1984, House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers Martin County residents to overcome hunger and hardship. House of Hope touches the lives of more than 7,000 people each month helping with basic needs such as food, clothing, furniture, financial assistance, as well as longer-term case management services that help build life skills for a more self-sufficient future. The organization has service centers in Stuart, Hobe Sound, Indiantown, and Jensen Beach, and Thrift Shops in South Stuart, Hobe Sound and Indiantown. House of Hope’s Enrichment Centers in Stuart and Jensen Beach offer free programs, technology, and workshops designed to enhance life skills, earning potential, health, and overall well-being. House of Hope also operates the Growing Hope Farm in Palm City and several nutrition gardens that provide sustainable sources of fresh produce for clients as well as nutrition education and vocational opportunities to the community. For more information, visit hohmartin.org or call 772-286-4673. Updates and announcements can also be found on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hohmartin, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/houseofhopemc/, and Twitter https://twitter.com/hohmartin.
