Over 1 Million Pounds of Food Collected in Southeastern Michigan During the 13th Annual National Association of Letter Carriers/ United States Postal Service Food Drive

Gleaners Community Food Bank wants to thank Detroit-area residents and the National Association of Letter Carriers for another record-breaking food drive. An estimated one million pounds of food was collected from the Gleaners service area during the "Stamp Out Hunger," food drive on Saturday, May 14th. The donation of non-perishable food items helps stock the empty shelves at Gleaners and other food banks and pantries throughout southeastern Michigan during the summer months when donations are down and the need for food remains high.

Gleaners also wants to express gratitude to the United States Postal Service, Campbell's Soup and Valpak Direct Marketing, Spartan Foods, Teamsters, and Oliver Farms for their commitment to helping families in need in our communities. Over the next several weeks volunteers will sort and repackage the food for storage until it is needed.

Since 1977, Gleaners Community Food Bank has been nourishing communities by feeding hungry people. This is done by securing surplus food for less fortunate members of the community from farmers, grocery retailers, food distributors and processors that would otherwise go to waste. Gleaners Community Food Bank distributes nearly 2 million pounds of food monthly to more than 300 agencies, which are direct providers of nutritious meals to hungry citizens in Southeast Michigan. Over 65,000 meals are served by these agencies each day and the need is growing. More support is needed to feed hungry people. Who are the hungry? 59% of the hungry in southeast Michigan are children and seniors. Many of the recipients of donated food are from working families who have difficulty making it through tough economic times.

For more information contact John Kastler, Vice President of Program Services at 313-923-3535, ext. 240 or visit the website at http://www.gcfb.org/ .

Source: Gleaners Community Food Bank

CONTACT: John Kastler, Vice President of Program Services of Gleaners
Community Food Bank, 1-313-923-3535, ext. 240

Web site: http://www.gcfb.org/