Farm Share to lead Florida efforts in nation's largest food drives, encourages Floridians to help “Stamp Out Hunger”

Farm Share, Florida’s largest independent food bank, invites Floridians to participate in the nation’s largest one-day food drive this Saturday, May 11, by placing a bag of nonperishable food items by their mailboxes. The Farm Share team will then gather the donations collected by local mail carriers around the state and distribute them to families in need across Florida’s 67 counties. 

The annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is a nationwide effort to help fight food insecurity by connecting the nation’s network of mail carriers with local food banks. Since 2017, Farm Share has been selected by the National Association of Letter Carriers as the campaign’s Florida food bank partner. All donations throughout the state will be distributed by Farm Share to Floridians in need. 

“Families should never have to choose between paying their bills and making sure food is in the pantry, but for more than 8 million Floridians – and millions more across the nation – this is the harsh reality,” said Stephen Shelley, CEO of Farm Share. “Through the tremendous support of letter carriers across Florida, those who are able to give can help feed our neighbors and communities from the comfort of their own homes.” 

Floridians who wish to participate are asked to fill a handled bag with nonperishable food items – such as canned goods, beans, pasta, rice, powdered milk, and cooking oils – and place it next to their mailbox for their mail carrier to pick up. 

In last year’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, Farm Share distributed approximately 10 million pounds of shelf-safe food to Floridians across the state. Since becoming a campaign partner in 2017, Farm Share has received and distributed nearly 39 million pounds in donations to Floridians in need. 

About Farm Share

Established in 1991, Farm Share started the innovative concept of retrieving unused food from Florida farms and redistributing it to those in need. Operations began in Homestead and have expanded to serve the entire state of Florida as a homegrown food bank. Farm Share is the largest independent food bank in the state and third largest in the nation, and was recently named America’s No. 1 Food Bank by Wall Street 24/7. The nonprofit organization focuses on fighting food insecurity in Florida while simultaneously reducing food waste from local farms. The Farm Share team redistributes fresh fruits and vegetables from Florida farmers to benefit neighborhoods and communities in need throughout all 67 counties in Florida. To learn more about Farm Share, visit www.farmshare.org.