After a five-year hiatus, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is bringing its Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive back to Central Oregon on Saturday, May 10, 2025. As the largest single-day food drive in the country, this nationwide effort makes it easy for residents to support their neighbors in need.
To participate, community members are encouraged to leave bags of non-perishable food items next to their mailboxes before mail delivery on May 10. Letter carriers in Bend, Redmond, Madras and Prineville will collect the donations during their regular routes and deliver them to NeighborImpact’s Food Bank, where the food will be distributed to local individuals and families through a network of partner pantries.
“This drive is incredibly important to our region,” said Carly Auten, Food Bank Director at NeighborImpact. “Every can or box of food collected through Stamp Out Hunger goes directly to Central Oregonians who are struggling to put meals on the table. With record levels of need and shrinking food resources, this support could not come at a better time.”
Held annually on the second Saturday in May, the Letter Carriers’ food drive spans 10,000 cities and towns across all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. The return of this event to Central Oregon comes at a critical moment, as food pantries across the region face rising demand and limited supplies.
NeighborImpact serves as the regional food bank for Central Oregon, distributing more than 6 million pounds of food annually through 57 partner agencies across Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties, as well as the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Over the past year, NeighborImpact’s Food Bank has supported an average of 78,815 individuals per month. Simultaneously, the food bank is grappling with a 17 percent drop in federal food supply due to reduced commodity distribution from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
This vital community effort would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of local letter carriers, whose commitment to collecting donations while delivering mail makes the food drive a success. NeighborImpact and the communities it serves extend their deepest gratitude to these carriers for their time, energy, and continued service.
Those who are unable to donate food but still wish to help can make a monetary donation at neighborimpact.org/donate. Every contribution supports the fight against hunger in Central Oregon.