WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: This Saturday (May 10th) National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 3 Members will be participating in the annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive and will be picking up non-perishable food placed near mailboxes across Western New York. Pictured above, NALC Branch 3 Buffalo/Western New York Food Drive Co-Chairman Zeb Robson (on the left) and NALC Branch 3 David Grosskopf, Junior tell WNYLaborToday.com the “need is greater than ever today” with so many Americans needing help to feed themselves and their families.   (WNYLaborToday.com Photo)

(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – The 33rd Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Driver, spearheaded here in Western New York by National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 3, will take place on Saturday (May 10th) as Letter Carriers across our eight counties pick up donations of non-perishable foods during the day while - at the same time, delivering thousands and thousands of letters and packages to their customers.

WNYLaborToday.com sat down with NALC Branch 3 President David Grosskopf, Jr. and Branch 3 Buffalo/Western New York Food Drive Co-Chairman Zeb Robson to talk about the importance of the food drive and the role Unionized Letter Carriers are playing in the effort.

“The ‘need is just greater than ever,’” Grosskopf said. “A lot of ‘traditional’ places, like Churches with food pantries, ‘are closing down.’ ‘That’s why we’re ramping up for a great effort from Western New York,’ which is a ‘Community of Good Neighbors.” ‘Regardless of what is going on, people in Western New York are always looking to help out.’”

“The ‘need is always there,’” added Robson, who noted Branch 3’s 1,300 Letter Carriers will be involved in the Stamp Out Hunger initiative. “In the past (33) years, we’ve collected (25) million pounds of food from Buffalo and Western New York. ‘Now, we’re redoubling our efforts because so many people are feeling the pinch.’”

Since its launch in 1993, NALC’s annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has grown into the Nation’s largest one-day food drive, helping to fill the shelves of food banks in cities and towns across the country.

On Saturday, NALC asks you leave your donation of non-perishable food in a bag near your mailbox and your Letter Carrier will do the rest.

NALC’s effort to help fight hunger in America grew out of discussions in 1991 by a number of leaders at the time, including NALC President Vincent Sombrotto, National AFL-CIO Community Services Director Joseph Velasquez and Postmaster General Anthony Frank.

A pilot drive was held in 10 cities in October of 1991 and it proved so successful that work began immediately on making it a nationwide effort.

Input from food banks and pantries suggested late Spring would be the best time because most food banks start running out of the donations received during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods by that point in the year.

A revamped drive was organized for May 15th, 1993 - the second Saturday in May - with a goal of having at least one NALC Branch in each of the 50 states participating.

The result was astounding, NALC Officials said.

More than 11 million pounds of food was collected - a one-day record in the U.S. - involving more than 220 Union Branches.

From Alaska to Florida and Maine to Hawaii, Letter Carriers do double duty- delivering mail and picking up donations.

From that point, Stamp Out Hunger grew and grew.

In the more than 30 years since it began, Stamp Out Hunger has collected nearly two billion pounds of food for those in need. 

“The ‘need is great’ because you have organizations like FeedMore Western New York ‘losing’ ($3.5) million in funding,” Robson noted.

“Our Membership ‘recognizes the importance of (Stamp Out Hunger) and (the drive) is also helping reinvigorate’ (their involvement in their Union),” he said.

Over the years, Buffalo/Western New York has historically held either one of the top three spots in donated food collected and Grosskopf anticipates a tremendous wave of donations on Saturday, with a little help from Organized Labor.

“The ‘community is Labor and Labor is the community - and we take care of our community,’” he said.