Donations down in 2026 for annual 'Stamp Out Hunger' food drive

ELYRIA — It was a down year Saturday for the annual, nationwide Stamp Out Hunger food drive, with donations and collections lower than last year, officials said. For Stamp Out Hunger, U.S. Postal Service customers are asked to leave non-perishable donations near their mailboxes the day of the drive. Letter carriers and volunteers then collect donations and bring them to local food banks and organizations for distribution in the community. Donations were down this year, the 34th annual drive. That was expected, said Dale Jones, program director at the Salvation Army Elyria Corps. "The need is still there" even as gas and food prices rise, Jones said while watching volunteers unload bags and boxes from Postal Service vans or carriers' personal cars, then sort them into boxes for storage. Jones said he was grateful for the public, the volunteers who showed up and the letter carriers who gave their time and effort. Letter carriers in Elyria used their lunch hours to drop off donations to the Salvation Army, or used their personal vehicles like retired letter carrier David Lozano. President of the National Association of Letter Carriers Local 196 that represents approximately 200 active and retired members in Elyria, Grafton, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Wellington and New London, Lozano brought bags and boxes of food to the Salvation Army garage behind 716 Broad St. where they were off-loaded by volunteers. Donations in those other cities and towns went to local organizations there: North Ridgeville Community Care. Our Lady Queen of Peace parish in Grafton. Well-Help at First United Methodist Church in Wellington. People still are going hungry, as rising fuel prices push the cost of food, retail goods and services higher. The national average price per gallon is now greater than $4.50, with lower income Americans hurting the most, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said this week as reported by the New York Times. Collections may have been slow, "but every little bit helps," Lozano said. Elyria letter carriers had their start times pushed back to 9 a.m. in early March, so Lozano said some donations were were going to be stored at the Post Office on East Bridge Street until letter carriers could get them there later. The union has participated in Stamp Out Hunger every year since it started, Lozano said. Food collection halted during the COVID-19 pandemic but letter carriers collected monetary donations instead, he said. "I'm retired, but it's still a joy" to participate, Lozano said. The nation's largest one-day food drive, Stamp Out Hunger has collected approximately 1.94 billion pounds of food to fight hunger, according to the National Association of Letter Carriers. The total nationwide in 2025 was 39,832,537 pounds of food, plus $873,711 in cash donations. "For more than three decades, this effort has demonstrated what's possible when people come together for a common cause," NALC President Brian Renfroe said in a news release. "Our letter carriers don't just deliver mail and packages. As integral members of our communities, we deliver hope. The continued generosity of the public is what makes the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive such a powerful force in the fight against hunger." For those who missed out on Stamp Out Hunger, donations of nonperishable food items can be made to the Salvation Army at 716 Broad St. in Elyria between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays, Jones said. He said the most sought-after donations include canned meats like tuna and beef stew, peanut butter and jelly or mac 'n cheese. To find your local food bank, you can go online to FeedingAmerica.org and enter your ZIP code. Donations can be made anytime to Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio at 5510 Baumhart Road in Lorain. Visit secondharvestfoodbank.org for more information on how to help. Every $1 donation helps provide six meals, according to Second Harvest.Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com