[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 54 (Friday, May 3, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS HELP TO STAMP OUT HUNGER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 3, 2002

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, May 11, 2002, the National 
Association of Letter Carriers teamed with an army of volunteers, will 
march forward to stamp out hunger in our country's largest one day food 
drive. With the current war in Afghanistan, our televisions have been 
flooded with images of individuals who struggle daily to meet their 
nutritional needs. Malnutrition seems to be a problem that only affects 
those half a world away. Unfortunately, the war on hunger is also 
battled in the United States every day.
  On May 11th, letter carriers from across the Nation will join 
together to collect nonperishable food items from their customers that 
will then be sorted and delivered to local food pantries for 
distribution. Last year, letter carriers in the metropolitan Milwaukee 
area, with the help of the Hunger Task Force, collected over 763,000 
pounds of food to insure that the over 40,000 moms, dads, and children 
that go to local pantries for nutritious food did not go hungry.
  These donations come at a critical time when supplies at pantries are 
traditionally low and demand for food to feed school-age children 
typically peaks, as access is restricted to school breakfast and lunch 
programs. Currently, 42 percent of low income children nationally 
depend on school programs to provide both breakfast and lunch. As the 
food drive takes place right before the local schools go on summer 
break, the timing of this event makes the National Association of 
Letter Carriers' Food Drive extremely important to the health of the 
most needy in our Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I am here today to ask that my colleagues lend their 
support to the letter carriers' drives in their own hometowns and 
districts. To my neighbors and friends in Milwaukee and Waukesha 
counties, I ask that you pick up a few extra nonperisable items on your 
weekly shopping trip. As these essential donations stay in the 
community, those that you work with and live near will benefit from 
your generosity.
  ``Stamp Out Hunger'' gives everyone the chance to help their fellow 
Americans while working for solutions to end hunger in their community.

                          ____________________