12-05-2025
Feeding Southwest Virginia partners with USPS for ‘Stamp Out Hunger'
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) – On Saturday, May 10, US Postal Service workers added some additional cargo to their trucks in the form of non-perishable food items.
Those items were collected along typical mail routes as folks had the opportunity to make food donations as part of the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
The donation is one of the largest single-day collections for food pantries nationwide, including for Feeding Southwest Virginia.
'If we got at least 40,000 pounds of food, that would be over 33,000 meals that we could distribute to our neighbors across Roanoke and beyond,' said Pete Deaver, director of foundation relations for Feeding Southwest Virginia.
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Food insecurity impacts the region in a big way, as around one-in-seven people across southwest Virginia face hunger.
Despite Stamp Out Hunger taking place over just one day, Deaver said the one-day total can go a long way in helping Feeding Southwest accomplish its goal of lowering food insecurity across the 26 localities it serves.
The collection also comes at a crucial time of year, just before schools let out for the summer months and many children lose access to free school lunches.
'The summertime is always a little bit more intense with people having extra needs,' said Deaver. 'Especially children at this time need some extra food support, so this is huge ahead of our summer feeding.'
Deaver said this year's collection may be even more important than usual.
'Right now, our neighbors are facing the highest rate of food insecurity in southwest Virginia that we've seen since 2009,' he said. 'At a time that a lot of people are already facing hunger and high prices, we just like to be the last line of defense.'
If you missed out on donating food items for Stamp Out Hunger but still want to help out, visit Feeding Southwest Virginia's website for more information on donations and volunteering.
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