Postal carrier food drive is Saturday in Manatee County

MANATEE -- With school out June 9, many students who get free meals at school may struggle nutritionally over the summer.

The 24th annual Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive -- in which postal carriers in Manatee, Sarasota and all over the nation pick up food items along their routes on the second Saturday in May -- is designed to fill the nutrition gap by supplying local food banks, said Enola Rice, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service.

"This is the most important time of the year for people who need help," Rice said Thursday. "With summer coming up, many families struggle."

This Saturday, customers are asked to leave nonperishable food items by their mail boxes at around the usual time the postal carrier comes by, Rice said.

"You can put food in little cardboard boxes or plastic bags and just leave them by the mail," Rice said. "Paper bags are fine, too. If you miss the carrier, you can also bring the food to your local post office."

All food goes to local food banks, Rice added.

The top requested nonperishable food items are cereal, pasta, pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce; rice, canned fruits and vegetables; canned meals such as soups, chili and pasta; 100 percent juice, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese; canned protein such as tuna, chicken and turkey; and beans, either canned or dry, according to the Stamp Out Hunger website.

"Our goal is to help restock community food banks, pantries and shelters for needy families throughout the summer," said Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, which promotes the drive.

Last year's drive collected approximately 71 million pounds of nonperishable food, Rolando said.

It was the 12th consecutive year letter carriers have collected more than 70 million pounds of food, and it brought the drive's grand total to more than 1.4 billion pounds of food collected.

Customers are asked not to donate frozen food, homemade food or home-canned items, or food in glass jars. Food that is opened, damaged, out of code or does not have the official ingredients included will be discarded by the food bank in the sorting process, according to the Stamp Out Hunger website.

Customers are also asked not to donate any form of individual baby food products including formula, jarred vegetables and fruits, meals, snacks, infant cereal. Baby food may be donated by the case or pallet, but single item donations present potential contamination risks and special handling requirements, according to the Stamp Out Hunger website.

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Postal carrier food drive is Saturday in Manatee County ."