Each year, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) partners with local food banks across the country on the second Saturday in May for Stamp Out Hunger: the nation’s largest single-day food drive. “This is our 34th year. The letter carriers, they’re like our second family,” said Adele Yoshikawa, mail carrier at Pearl City Post Office and Stamp Out Hunger spokesperson.
On Saturday, May 9, thousands across the island left non-perishable food donations near their mailboxes to be picked up by their local letter carriers.
These donations were then transported to Hawai‘i Foodbank by various transportation partners. “A lot of these truck drivers have been doing this for a number of years,” said Teri Luna, Hawai‘i Foodbank director of product resourcing. “Every year, I try to get more and more truckers to come. It’s really important that we keep the network with them – this is their way of giving back to the community.”
As the donations arrived at the warehouse, hundreds of corporate partners like Kaiser Permanente, community members and local union workers volunteered to sort and pack them on the same day. “We had over 400 volunteers. It’s one of the biggest events of Hawai‘i Foodbank every year. They help receive the food; move the food; sort the food and store the food,” shared Kimo Brown, community engagement and volunteer coordinator at Hawai‘i Foodbank. “We could not do what we do today without volunteers,” Kimo added.
Adele shared that she didn’t realize the scale of impact Stamp Out Hunger had on the community until she got involved in coordinating it. “I walked into [the Foodbank] and the shelves were empty. After our food drive, the shelves were full,” she shared.
“I walked into [the Foodbank] and the shelves were empty. After our food drive, the shelves were full.”
Stamp Out Hunger is an event where the community comes together in perfect harmony, all in support of fighting hunger in our islands. The dedication of everyone involved is truly inspiring – it’s a testament to the aloha spirit, our shared kuleana to take care of our neighbors, and what we can accomplish when we all work together.
During this year’s event, our same-day deliveries totaled 249,881 pounds of food — enough to provide over 208,000 meals for our neighbors facing hunger.
From all of us at Hawai‘i Foodbank, mahalo for your support in the 2026 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive!
