Stamp Out Hunger 2010

Stamp Out Hunger, the nation’s largest single-day food drive, was held Saturday, May 8.

House of Hope received 80,632 pounds of food from the Stamp Out Hunger food drive this year, up from the 72,000 pounds last year.

See photo gallery of the food drive

The dollar equivalent of the food is $201,580, based on our formula of $2.50 per pound. We are so very grateful to the Letter Carriers, the residents of Martin County and our tireless volunteers!

The annual food drive is conducted by the National Association of Letter Carriers, and House of Hope is the primary recipient in Martin County.

Letter carriers collected non-perishable donations from homes as they delivered mail along their postal routes. House of Hope receives food from all Martin County postal routes except Jensen Beach, which goes to Treasure Coast Food Bank, so a “Martin County” total may be different than a “House of Hope” total.

News coverage:
Letter carriers' Stamp Out Hunger food drive this week

Generosity of letter carriers, neighbors feed needy during lean summer months

Stamp Out Hunger 2009

In 2009, Stamp Out Hunger was held on Saturday, May 9 and brought in nearly 40 tons of food, which lasted about four months.

In 2008, the drive brought in 44 tons of food to House of Hope, amounting to about 103,000 meals for Martin County's hungry.

In preparation for the drive, residents throughout Martin County received a post card from their letter carrier, notifying them about the drive; they also received a bag from Publix. Residents were asked to leave the bag (or other sturdy container) containing non-perishable foods next to their mailbox on May 9. 

Letter carriers picked up the food and brought it to a central location. House of Hope then picked up the food and brought it to the Stuart food warehouse, where about 70 volunteers sorted and boxed hundreds of thousands of items.

The food drive comes at a key time because of already high demand stemming from the current economic crisis. Through the first quarter of this year, House of Hope has distributed nearly 20 tons of food, fulfilling 3,410 requests from individuals and families in need. The requests are more than double the number seen during the same period in 2008.

Donations are even more critical entering the summer months because many children no longer have the benefit of their school lunch program.

House of Hope’s Food Pantry program – along with the agency’s Emergency Financial Assistance and Clothes Closet programs -- provides temporary assistance to families during personal crises beyond their control. The Food Pantry program also serves many fixed-income senior citizens on a regular basis.

For information about House of Hope, please call (772) 286-4673 or visit www.hohmartin.org.