NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
April 29, 2004

POSTAL FOOD CARRIERS TO COLLECT DONATED FOOD DOOR-TO-DOOR THIS SATURDAY, MAY 8

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed today joined members of the Harrisburg Branch 500 of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S. Postal Service in kicking off the 2004 National Food Drive, which encourages the donation of non-perishable foodstuffs to the South Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and other regional food banks. The Harrisburg area Drive is being conducted this Saturday, May 8, in association with the U.S. Postal Service and United Way of the Capital Region.

The Mayor said residents throughout the Greater Harrisburg area can participate in the food drive simply by placing non-perishable food items such as canned and boxed foods next to their mailbox or mailslot on Saturday, May 8, only. Letter carriers will collect the foodstuffs for delivery to the South Central Pa Food Bank, and other similar groups that feed the hungry throughout the multi-county midstate.

Reed said: “Let me put it plainly. This is about feeding hungry people, the majority of whom are children, right here in our own region. Despite the relative affluence of the nation and region, there are people—in urban, suburban and rural communities—who daily must struggle to secure basic food. To most people, this is hard to imagine in their own lives, but this is a very real and recurring problem. This is exactly why this Food Drive exists.”

Reed said the City of Harrisburg served as the host city for the first food drive in 1991 and it was so successful that it was later adopted nationally in 1992 by the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Postal Service, the AFL-CIO and the United Way of America. More than 61 million pounds of food were collected nationwide last year, with more than 53,000 pounds collected in the Capital Region.

In the 12 years since the first drive, it is estimated that more than 570 million pounds of food has been collected nationally, with 6 million pounds donated locally.

More than 10,000 American communities, served by over 1,400 branches of the U.S. Postal Service, participated in last year’s drive as a result of the successful pilot program in Harrisburg thirteen years ago.

“We salute the mailcarriers and the U.S. Postal Service for their extraordinary commitment to making this happen across our nation. What began in Harrisburg has become a measurable way to address a very real issue in everyday America,” Reed said.

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