Postal workers across Iowa are helping restock the state’s food banks today (Saturday). Letter carriers in many communities will be picking up non-perishable food items when they deliver the mail as part of “Stamp Out Hunger Day,” the nation’s largest single-day food drive. Barb Prather is executive director of the Waterloo-based Northeast Iowa Food Bank, one of the many organizations that will receive donated items.
Prather says “Go to your cupboard, see what you have, or go to the store and see what you can get, and place it outside your door by your post office box before 9:30” in the morning, as volunteers will be coming by to get the food. Prather encourages Iowans to make the effort — as it won’t take much to make a big difference.
She says all you have to do is put the bag of food outside your door — it’s very easy to participate. You don’t have to go anywhere, you can stay in the comfort of your own home and you can donate in two or three minutes. Last year, more than 71-million pounds of food was collected in the drive nationwide.