FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jessica Sund
Director of Development and Communications
Phone: 507.269.2885
Email: [email protected]
Rochester, MN – July 19th Rochester letter carriers donated $8,000, including a match from The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), to support Channel One Regional Food Bank. The fundraiser took place as a COVID-safe alternative to their 29th Annual Stamp Out Hunger® food drive.
Traditionally, the NALC Stamp Out Hunger® campaign has been extremely successful both locally and on a national scale– the local 2019 campaign brought nearly 40,000 lbs of food to the region through donations from the public, while the 2020 campaign was postponed.
“As letter carriers in every neighborhood in the country six and seven days a week, we see the need and we cannot wait while food banks struggle, demand grows and people remain hungry,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said.
After suspending food drives due to the pandemic, Channel One found that they can provide more food, more efficiently to the region by holding fund drives instead of food drives. As a food bank, Channel One can stretch monetary donations further by purchasing food in bulk at a significant discount from food manufacturers.
“With the departure of food drives, it means the world that our local letter carriers decided to host a fund drive for Stamp Out Hunger®. It’s even more amazing that they donated out of their own pockets for this campaign, rather than requesting donations from the public,” stated Jessica Sund, Director of Development and Communications at Channel One, “We are so thankful for the continuous support from our local letter carriers and the NALC.”
Every dollar donated to Channel One provides 3.5 meals, so the letter carriers’ campaign contributed 28,000 meals to the region. Sund says the donation will go towards perishable items that clients consistently request and cannot be donated in a food drive, such as fresh produce and dairy products.
Pre-pandemic, Channel One staff and volunteers dedicated an average of 50 hours a week sorting through donated items: checking for expiration dates, proper packaging and labeling, then sorting by category and adding to inventory. Donating funds rather than food allows the food bank to distribute healthier food options to our neighbors facing food insecurity, without the increased labor of sorting and storing donated items.
Sund continued, “Every act of generosity helps us further our mission to increase food access and build healthy communities. Acts like these are helping provide food to our community in a time of tremendous need.”
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Channel One Regional Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, strengthens food access and builds healthy communities. Channel One operates food programs to serve local and area needs such as: a food bank, a food shelf, mobile pantries, Childhood Hunger Programs, and the Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors (NAPS). Channel One Regional Food Bank mobilizes organizations, volunteers, and donors to serve the network of more than 200 nonprofit programs that provide food for children, adults, and families in need. Channel One serves 14 counties across southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. For more information, call 507.287.2350 or visit helpingfeedpeople.org
