PHOENIX – Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, is taking place Saturday at your mailbox.
The annual event, which started over three decades ago, carries on a tradition of simple giving that began in Arizona.
“It actually evolves back to 50 years ago, when a bunch of letter carriers in the West Valley decided they were going to take their own cars and on a Sunday, when they were off, asked people to leave food outside,” Jerry Brown of Phoenix-based St. Mary’s Food Bank told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Thursday morning.
“And it was so popular and really caught the eye of the United States Postal Service, and they turned it into a nationwide drive.”
What is Stamp Out Hunger?
Stamp Out Hunger, which happens every year the day before Mother’s Day, is probably the easiest way to help families in need.
To participate, just look through your pantry or go shopping to gather six to 10 non-perishable items and leave them in a bag by your mailbox for letter carriers to pick up during their daily rounds Saturday.
“They’ll take it back to the post office where food banks like St. Mary’s, United, St. Vincent de Paul, Desert Mission, they’ll all be waiting at the different post offices with their trucks,” Brown said.
Canned fruits, vegetables, meats, soups, stews and pasta meals are among the most needed items, along with cereal, rice and beans.
Letter carriers collected almost 40 million pounds of donated items during last year’s Stamp Out Hunger event and have gathered over 1.9 billion pounds of food since the national campaign began in 1993.
How much does the national event benefit local food banks?
About 200,000 pounds from last year’s haul went to St. Mary’s, which also collected enough in monetary donations that day to buy another 60,000 pounds of food.
The 2025 event also provided over 71,500 pounds for United Food Bank, which serves communities in the East Valley and eastern Arizona.
“Hunger and food insecurity continue to affect thousands of Arizonans, with the numbers rising each year,” United Food Bank CEO Jason Reed said in a press release. “We are honored to once again be part of this year’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive.”
Every pound counts this year, with government cuts hitting local food banks. St. Mary’s said it lost about 1 million pounds of food it was expecting this summer due to federal food budget reductions.
“All we’re asking you is clean out your pantry, help us stock up for the summer,” Brown said. “We’re seeing more people than ever, and this is a great way where you can help without leaving your driveway.”
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