Foodbank and USPS Letter Carriers Unite for the Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

A Simple Way to Help: Leave Non-Perishable Food by Your Mailbox to Support Local Families

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County will benefit from the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) annual food drive on Saturday, May 10th, 2025. Postal customers can donate non-perishable food items by leaving them next to mailboxes before mail is delivered on the day of the drive.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive accepts all shelf-stable, non-glass food items. The most needed foods for the drive are nut butters, canned protein (such as tuna, chicken and salmon), whole grain cereals, pasta, canned pasta sauce, dried beans, canned beans, canned corn, healthy soups and stews, oatmeal, bouillon, olive oil and rice.

All non-perishable food left next to mailboxes before mail delivery on May 10 will be collected by letter carriers as they deliver mail along their postal routes. All food donated by Santa Barbara County residents will go to the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

The number of people seeking food assistance continues to grow as inflation and the soaring cost of living force more local families to seek help. Santa Barbara County has the second highest poverty rate among all counties in California, putting immense pressure on working families. At the same time, recent cuts to federal and state food programs have reduced the Foodbank’s access to critical resources. The cancellation of government initiatives and reductions in support have made it more challenging to meet the rising need. The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive offers an opportunity for our community to come together and provide real, tangible support to help close the growing hunger gap.

The annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is one of the most important ways we can collect essential food for our neighbors in need. This year, the Foodbank’s goal is to collect 100,000 pounds of nutritious, shelf-stable food to support the increasing number of people turning to us for help.

The NALC has conducted the annual nationwide food drive on the second Saturday in May for more than 30 years. The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is held in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

In 2024, Santa Barbara County residents donated more than 75,000 pounds of non-perishable food during the one-day drive, including more than 42,000 pounds for the Santa Barbara warehouse and over 33,000 pounds for the Santa Maria warehouse.

Several national partners are assisting the NALC, including the U.S. Postal Service, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, United Way Worldwide, the AFL-CIO, Valpak, Vallassis, the Kellogg Company and CVS.

Prefer to make a monetary gift instead? Donations go even further through the Foodbank’s network of partners, where every $1 provides $5 worth of nutritious food. Visit www.FoodbankSBC.org to make a secure donation and help bridge the hunger gap.

About the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County transforms hunger into health by providing nutritious food, education, and resources to residents throughout the county. We serve 1 in 3 Santa Barbara County neighbors, distribute over 12 million pounds of food yearly, and work with more than 200 partners and programs to build food security and resilience across Santa Barbara County.

For more information, visit www.FoodbankSBC.org.