Guam’s branch president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Maria Ydil, provided the following message about NALC and the U.S. Postal Service’s annual project to help feed the hungry:
This annual food drive is the nation’s largest all-volunteer one-day food collection effort. It is held annually on the second Saturday in May and is a community outreach effort of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
As you know, needy families and individuals in our community go without proper food every day due to a variety of factors including low wages, job loss, injuries, illness, age, domestic violence, or divorce and especially during the Covid 19 Pandemic. The need for food donations is great. Currently, 42 million Americans are unsure where their next meal is coming from. Sixteen million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. More than 5 million seniors over age 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help.
Our food drive’s timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.
There are a few drop off locations throughout the island that will start collecting from May 1, 2022 to May 10, 2022. In addition, if the customer has home delivery, they may simply leave the non perishable food donations by their mailbox on Saturday, May 14,2022.
All donations are given to three local food banks: Salvation Army, Catholic Social Services, and Kamalen Karidat.
