Mark your calendars, the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger food drive is set for May 10, 2025. Harvesters is proud to partner with letter carrier unions in Kansas City, Topeka, Manhattan, and surrounding communities on this drive. This drive happens at a critical time as the end of the school year approaches and families are facing the realities of summer hunger.  

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Volunteer
Our extraordinary letter carriers perform double duty by collecting bags of donated food along their postal routes and need your support! Click here to Volunteer and support this incredible food drive. Volunteers of all ages are welcome for these off-site opportunities.  

Donate Food
A bag will arrive in your mailbox in the weeks leading up to the food drive. Fill the bag with your favorite nonperishable food items and set it near your mailbox for pick up on the morning of May 10th. If you did not receive a bag, you can still participate by filling any plastic or paper bag with food! This drive will happen rain or shine. 

Donate Funds
Every $1 helps Harvesters to provide 2 meals 

• Stamp Out Hunger Virtual Food Drive – link coming soon!

• You can mail donations to 3801 Topping Avenue Kansas City, MO 64129 or 1220 Timberedge Road Lawrence, KS 66049 

Spread the Word
Help us spread the word about Stamp Out Hunger! Share information about this great food drive with your family and friends. Do not forget to tag Harvesters! 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What should I donate to this drive? 
For this drive we recommend donations of canned goods and items in sturdy containers like peanut butter. Due to the amount of food collected on this day items like ramen noodles, boxed meals, and cereal often get crunched. Please do not donate items in glass jars. To view our most needed items list please visit https://www.harvesters.org/how-to-help/give-food/most-needed-items  

Can I donate expired food? 
If the label has an expiration date listed, it is not safe for human consumption, and we are not able to use it. If it has a sale by or best by date it is still safe to consume up to a year beyond this date, so yes, we can use these donations!  

Where do I put my food? 
Place your donations where you typically receive mail (curbside mailbox, front door, multi-unit mailbox).  

What if I’ve lost the bag or didn’t receive one?
You can leave it in any bag, box, or other container. We just need to make sure it is clearly identifiable that it should be picked up as part of the food drive. Ex. If someone leaves food in a trash bag by the curb it might be mistaken for trash and not picked up.  

What happens after the donations are collected by Letter Carriers? 
Donations are received at Harvesters facilities in Kansas City and Lawrence. Where volunteers will sort through them and prepare them for distribution to the network of Harvesters agency partners.  

Have you considered changing the weekend? It’s a busy one with Mother’s Day and Graduations. 
The letter carriers chose to host the food drive on the second Saturday in May when the drive started in 1991. This national drive has generated more than 1.9 billion pounds of food since its inception. Click here to learn more about the history of this incredible drive.  

Why are you asking the letter carriers to do this? They already work so hard. 
The NALC Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the Letter Carriers food drive. It was started as an outgrowth of a tradition of community service exhibited repeatedly by members of the letter carrier’s union over the years. Letter carriers go into neighborhoods in every town six days a week, often coming face to face with the realities of food insecurity. We invite you to join us in thanking them by leaving a note of gratitude with your donation, a simple thank you can go a long way!  

SHAWNEE COUNTY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

When will my food get picked up? 
Please have donations out by 9 AM, all donations should be picked up by 6 PM. Due to the volume of donations letter carriers are often running behind on their routes, please be patient with us! 

What if my food didn’t get picked up?
We apologize if we missed you! Letter Carriers will still accept food through the following week, if it is in the mailbox. You can also take it to any area Dillon’s store or Topeka Post Office until the end of May and it will count toward the Stamp Out Hunger Letter Carriers food drive!  

Someone other than my letter carrier picked up my food!
Harvesters’ volunteers are assisting the letter carriers with collecting food along the postal routes. Volunteers have been provided with safety vests, buttons and car signs to help identify them. The food they collect will be taken to your post office and will support the drive. Thank you for your donation! 

CONTACT US

Have a question or need more information? We’re happy to help. Contact us at:
Kansas City: (816) 929-3090 or getinvolved@harvesters.org
Lawrence: (785) 856-6089 or fighthunger@harvesters.org