The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is preparing for its annual food drive this Saturday, May 10th. Members of the community gathered today at the North Robison Road Post Office in Texarkana to commend the support of letter carriers and the community.
Letter carriers travel through our community daily, often confronting a sad reality for too many: hunger. Each year on the second Saturday in May, letter carriers across the country collect non-perishable food donations from our customers. These donations go directly to local food pantries that provide hunger relief to food-insecure neighbors in Miller and Bowie counties and the surrounding region.
The event comes at a critical time, according to Camille Wrinkle, CEO of Harvest Regional Food Bank, the hunger relief partner for the Texarkana area NALC. “With the high cost of food, people are struggling to put food on their table, especially families with children who may not have access to school-provided meals over the summer.” Harvest Regional Food Bank provides much-needed food to over 80 local pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters throughout the year. Adding, “When you see that yellow bag this week, be sure to fill it with non-perishable foods.”
In the 33 years since it began, the food drive has collected well over 1.9 billion pounds of food for struggling residents nationally. The need for food donations is great. Currently, more than 44 million Americans are unsure where their next meal will come from. More than 14 million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and ability to perform in school. Nearly 5.5 million seniors over age 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help. Our food drive’s timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.
About Harvest Regional Food Bank
Harvest Regional Food Bank is the Feeding America food bank serving Bowie County, TX, as well as Miller, Lafayette, Hempstead, Little River, Sevier, Howard, Pike, Nevada, and Columbia Counties, in southwest Arkansas. Our mission is to eliminate hunger through food distribution, education, and advocacy. Formed in 1989 as a local food rescue organization, Harvest Regional Food Bank now serves as the area’s primary hunger relief provider, distributing nearly 4 million pounds of food in 2024 to approximately 100 partner churches, shelters, and healthcare partners. In more rural and underserved areas, the Food Bank serves food-insecure communities directly, with over 35 Mobile Pantry distributions. Harvest Regional Food Bank addresses childhood and family hunger through our backpack food and school pantry programs on over 40 primary, high school, and college campuses, and also serves neighbors aged 55 and over through our Senior Food Box program. More information can be found at www.harvestregionalfoodbank.org or by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/harvesttxk
About the National Association of Letter Carriers
The 294,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country’s oldest labor unions.
