This morning I received a flyer informing me of a national food drive taking place this Saturday, May 10th. The National Association of Letter Carriers is holding the "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive and all you need to do is leave a bag of non-perishable food items by your mailbox. The postal carrier will pick it up and deliver it to your local food bank!
"Though thousands of local post offices will be participating in the program, some are unable to. To find out whether your letter carrier is participating, search the USPS website for the contact information for your local post office."
For me, this is perfect timing. I've been weeding out my cupboard contents and replacing bad items with healthier choices. This is a perfect opportunity to get rid of things you likely won't use.
A couple suggestions ...
1. check expiration dates - nobody wants your old crap :-) The oldest thing I found today expired in 2006. Whoops!
2. seize this opportunity - cleanse yourself of high-fat, high-sodium, high-calorie foods -- look at those nutrition labels and serving sizes ... you may be shocked by what you see!
I just realized my suggestions may sound horrible ... 'let's donate all of our unhealthy food to the less fortunate'. Hmmm, that's not what I'm advocating by any means - please also include healthy foods too! It's not like I'm filling a bag with lard and sticks of butter, but instead all those canned goods and prepared foods that no longer fit my current diet which someone may be able to use.
My local food bank will be gaining a few flavored gelatins, pudding mixes, cake mixes, coconut milk, a lovely assortment of Indian and Indonesian prepared spice pastes (pure salt), canned soups, canned tomatoes, pasta, and prepared sauces.
I'm headed out grocery shopping tomorrow and will add in a few more things to fill the bag up to the top. For all of the US folks, I hope you take this opportunity to help stock your local food bank. Leave me a comment and let everyone know what you'll be putting in your bag!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
National Food Drive: Saturday May 10th!
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4 Comments:
Allen, cake mixes?!?! Gasp!! For shame! Kidding :) (does this count as a personal tirade? Hahaha!)
Don't worry about your contribution. It sounds very reasonable to me-- people can always use soup and canned vegetables. It seems weird, though, that the USPS would be doing this around mother's day. You'd think their trucks would be stuffed enough as it is!
Oh, Mark - don't be gettin' all high and mighty on me :-) Every good pantry has a couple of 'go-to' items that are quick and simple to prepare -- 70% store-bought, 30% homemade :-) Ha!
If it makes you feel any better, I bought them on sale a long time ago and hadn't used them (hence the need to give them away).
I'm not sure why the USPS picked this weekend -- you're right, the timing seems questionable. I sent my mom flowers so the USPS isn't being overloaded by me.
Thanks for the heads up, I checked my mail and indeed there was a postcard about the National Food Drive :). You're being amazingly generous, I'm only donating some lentils, condensed soups, and jellied cranberry sauce.
Have a good weekend :)!
I put out my Banana Republic bag full of pasta and canned soups last Saturday ;) I also found some disturbingly out of date stuff in the cupboard that I tossed. So all in all it was a good day.
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