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Final results from the drive in more than 10,000 cities
and towns in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions on May
10 showed 61,680,790 pounds of non-perishable food collected
in the drive, the nation's largest one-day effort to combat
hunger.
The amount includes a contribution of 1 million pounds
of canned goods from the Campbell Soup Company, a major
supporter of the drive along with the U.S. Postal Service.
NALC President William H. Young thanked the millions of
American families who left food by their mailboxes and the
thousands of letter carriers, rural carriers, and other
postal employees and volunteers who collected and processed
the donations for local food banks.
"In this struggling economy,
the generosity of citizens in this food drive is truly
remarkable," Young said. "It comes as many food
banks and pantries are in desperate need with empty shelves
and dwindling resources as they try to help families facing
hunger."
The postal union is also joining with America's Second
Harvest in observance of National Hunger Awareness Day Thursday
to encourage continued citizen donations to local food banks.
Young also thanked the Postal Service and Campbell Soup
Company, who together supplied 105 million postcards to
promote the drive, as well as other major supporters: America's
Second Harvest, local United Ways, the AFL-CIO, and cartoonist
Bil Keane, who provided a special "Family Circus"
drawing for the drive.
Buffalo/Western New York NALC Branch 3, which collected
1,526,666 pounds of donations, was the top NALC local branch
in the drive.
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