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News and Updates
Food Access
May 13, 2019
UFCW Helps to Stamp Out Hunger in Communities Across the Country
On May 11, UFCW locals turned out in full force to collect non-perishable food made by union members for local food banks as part of the 27th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. This is the fourth year that the UFCW has partnered with the National Association of Letter Carriers to sponsor this campaign, which is the largest single-day food drive in the country.
In the last 25 years with support from UFCW and other organizations, the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has collected 1.5 billion pounds of food that was donated to local food banks and other organizations, helping to feed the more than 46 million Americans who struggle with hunger.
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has been an inspiring way for our union family to make a positive difference in the lives of our friends, neighbors and the communities we serve.
Here are a few images, including a video, from this year’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive:
April 29, 2019
One Simple Way to Give Back to Your Community – Stamp Out Hunger
This year, the UFCW is once again partnering with the National Association of Letter Carriers to sponsor the 27th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, which will take place on Saturday, May 11. This campaign, which is the largest single-day food drive in the country, is an opportunity for UFCW Locals to make a difference in the lives of millions of American families who are suffering from the effects of hunger.
Last year, our union helped to collect millions of pounds of union-made, non-perishable food for local food banks. This year, we are encouraging all UFCW Locals and their members to pitch in by collecting unopened, non-perishable food and placing it in a bag next to their mailbox before their letter carrier delivers their mail on Saturday, May 11.
Help us make this year’s campaign the biggest and most successful yet. You can get more information about the campaign here. You can also contact Amy Ritter for a UFCW Stamp Out Hunger toolkit at aritter@ufcw.org.
Together, we can help families struggling to put food on the table and make a positive difference in the communities we proudly serve and call home.
November 1, 2016
Local 1208 and United Way Partner to Provide Hurricane Matthew Relief to Members and Their Families
Last month, UFCW Local 1208 partnered with United Way of Robeson County to distribute much needed food to members across southern North Carolina and northern South Carolina who are still struggling to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Matthew. The event, which was held at the Family Dollar in Lumberton, provided assistance to over 150 workers and their families. Members of UFCW Local 204, along with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina and corporate partners like Kroger and Kellogg’s, also donated items to help Local 1208 members and their families.
Stephanie Franklin, a member of Local 1208 who has worked at Smithfield Foods in Tar Heel for more than 11 years and lives in Lumberton, was one of the recipients.
“The whole area was affected by Hurricane Matthew,” Franklin said. “I’ve lived in North Carolina my whole life, and this was one of the worst storms I’ve seen. My son is four years old, and we were stuck in our trailer for two days during the storm and we didn’t have enough food or water. Our trailer is up high, but the bathroom ceiling caved in a little bit and the water was still up to my waist.”
“The relief effort meant a lot and shows that Local 1208 is there for you. I appreciate everything they gave me and my son,” Franklin said. “We’re slowly getting back to normal.”
“Hurricane Matthew brought incredible hardship to our friends and neighbors, and it is times like these that we must come together to help those in need” said Ella Ellerbe, who has worked in packaging at Smithfield for ten years. “Our union family, working with our partners, are proud to help our local members and their families get the food assistance they need. We’re committed to doing all that we can to help our members recover from this storm because no hard-working family should ever have to struggle alone.”
UFCW Local 1208 worked with Smithfield Foods to ensure that everyone at the plant in Tar Heel received a full week’s pay when Hurricane Matthew struck, regardless of actual time on the job. Members of Local 1208 have contributed more than $10,000 to United Way of Robeson County to help their community recover from Hurricane Matthew.
June 1, 2016
Stamp Out Hunger Recap
This year, UFCW members and locals played an active role in the Stamp Out Hunger food drive. The following photos are just a a fraction of the astounding donations of non-perishable food and time volunteered by UFCW folks in their communities. (Click to advance)
May 19, 2016
Members of Congress Join UFCW to Stamp Out Hunger
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Last week, members of Congress from across the country, together with members of the UFCW, joined together to help launch the National Association of Letter Carriers’ “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive.
“Stamp Out Hunger,” the largest single-day food drive, invited Americans to leave food by their mailboxes on Saturday, May 14 for collection by their neighborhood letter carriers for delivery to local food pantries.
This year, the UFCW, as a national title sponsor, invited Congressional offices and members from both sides of the aisle to participate. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.), and Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and their staff participated in helping us to promote this worthy cause.
UFCW Locals from all across the country also hosted their own events, making this year’s food drive one of the biggest and best that anyone had ever seen.
UFCW members see the effects of hunger in America every single day. Every time someone has to turn back and put something away in one of our checkout lines because they don’t have enough money, we feel for them. For millions of families, this year’s food drive was a small, but important, step towards fixing that problem.
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