Locals donated more than 120,000 pounds of food during last month’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which will provide 120,000 meals for local families facing food insecurity, according to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which says the total collected is the largest from the springtime food drive since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stamp Out Hunger, organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is the largest single-day food drive in the country, uniting communities in a shared mission to end food insecurity.
Our local effort was done on Saturday, May 9. People across the Food Bank’s 25-county service area left non-perishable food donations by their mailboxes for letter carriers to collect.
Volunteers positioned at local post offices sorted and helped transport those contributions to the Food Bank’s four branch locations: Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Verona and Winchester.
The total pounds collected from each participating post office location:
- Winchester: 38,561 pounds
- Lynchburg: 30,599 pounds
- Waynesboro: 13,903 pounds
- Staunton: 13,668 pounds
- Harrisonburg: 8,470 pounds
- Charlottesville: 7,647 pounds
- Additional sources: 7,844 pounds
“Stamp Out Hunger makes an incredible difference to the Food Bank and the community,” said Kari Diener, CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “The generosity of our neighbors, and the dedication of letter carriers and volunteers, ensures thousands of families have nourishing food when they need it most. We’re deeply grateful for the support from everyone that makes this drive so successful each year.”
When school ends for summer break, demand for food assistance often rises while donations dip. The Stamp Out Hunger food drive helps rebuild the supply of non‑perishable food at a critical moment, helping strengthen the Food Bank partner network as they provide groceries for neighbors facing hunger.
For more information on supporting the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, visit www.brafb.org.
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Chris Graham
