Food Bank of South Jersey, National Association of Letter Carriers Launch Stamp Out Hunger Campaign with Kick-Off Event at Campbell’s Field

Pennsauken, NJ, May 06, 2015 --(PR.com)-- For the 23rd consecutive year, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will conduct its massive single-day food drive that benefits emergency food providers nationwide; the Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) is expected to receive 250,000 pounds of food or more in donations from this year’s campaign, to be conducted on Saturday, May 9.

To signify how important Stamp Out Hunger (SOH) is in its mission to combat hunger, FBSJ is partnering with the Camden Riversharks to stage a kick-off event. Local leadership from the NALC and United States Postal Service, as well as executives from South Jersey corporations who have supported FBSJ through Stamp Out Hunger sponsorships, will speak at the launch.

When
Friday, May 8, 2015
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Where:
Campbell’s Field, 401 North Delaware Avenue, Camden, NJ 08102

Why:
The timing of Stamp Out Hunger is significant. Summer is typically a season when donations to food banks slow down; the large SOH donation made in May enables FBSJ to sustain its inventories just as pantries in our network are experiencing an uptick in demand due to the close of school feeding programs. Creating heightened awareness of SOH through a kick-off event reminds everyone in our communities that they will play an important role in making the 2015 campaign a success.

How SOH Works
With sponsorship support from corporate partners, FBSJ prints a large supply of food collection bags (270,000) for the Stamp Out Hunger campaign. The bags are delivered by Letter Carriers to households in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem counties. Residents fill the bags with shelf-stable foods, which the carriers will collect on May 9, 2015 and bring back to postal distribution centers. The SOH donations are rerouted to FBSJ’s distribution center in Pennsauken on the same day.

To handle the volume of food collected through the SOH campaign, FBSJ recruits volunteers from the community to unload the postal trucks and to perform initial food sorting. Approximately 50 volunteers are expected to help out at FBSJ this year.

Who (Speakers and Corporate Sponsors at the May 8 Kick-Off Event)

· Ray McDonald, National Association of Letter Carriers, Region 12 Administration
· Ronelle Mihok, Senior Post Office Operations Manager (USPS)
· Lindsay Rosenberg, General Manager, Riversharks
· Val Traore, CEO, Food Bank of South Jersey
· Bassam Awadalla, Bank of America Area Executive (NJ, DE, PA)
· Blenda Riddick, Director Corporate & Government Affairs, United Airlines
· ShopRite Executive (TBD)
· Tammy Paolino, Senior Content Editor, Courier Post
· Sabine Mehnert, External Relations Manager, Food Bank of South Jersey

Visuals:
The kick-off event will be staged on the warning track of Campbell’s Field (Riversharks Stadium). Postal vehicles and a Food Bank of South Jersey truck will be present; letter carriers will carry SOH collection bags that have already been filled to their vehicles, to officially signal the start of SOH.

About the Food Bank of South Jersey
A member of Feeding America, our nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, The Food Bank of South Jersey (FBSJ) is the leader in providing safe and nutritional food to people in need throughout South Jersey. FBSJ distributes food, provides nutrition education and cooking courses, and helps food insecure families and seniors find sustainable ways to improve their lives. To learn more visit www.foodbanksj.org