Food Lion Donates 10,000 Meals to 'Stamp Out Hunger' Drive in Fredericksburg

A food bank in Fredericksburg will get a serious boost this week when Food Lion grocery store drops off 10,000 meals to help jump-start the bank's annual food drive.

As the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank (FRFB) and National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) prepare for their annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive this Saturday, May 14, Food Lion will be donating 10,000 meals a few days early on Tuesday morning.

Representatives from both FRFB and NALC hope Food Lion's generous donation will inspire local residents to contribute to the food drive too, which will help feed thousands of underprivileged local families though the end of spring and into summer.

Representatives from the grocery store say their donation is made through the Food Lion Feeds charitable program.

"Food Lion Feeds is proud to support the Stamp Out Hunger campaign in Fredericksburg," said Sherry Ritenour, Food Lion's director of operations for the Fredericksburg area. "By donating the first 10,000 meals, we hope our customers in the Fredericksburg community will help us support the campaign."

Several postal workers from the NALC say they regularly see families that are struggling on their mail delivery routes.

“As letter carriers, we are honored to be able to help people in need,” said Fredric Rolando, NALC president. “On a daily basis we see the struggles in the communities we serve, and we believe it’s important to do what we can to help.”

The food bank functions as a local grocery store of sorts, where underprivileged member families can come and "shop" for their food needs on a regular basis. Food drives such as the annual Stamp Out Hunger drive help keep those shelves stocked.

“The need in our area is very real,” stated Oya Oliver, Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank CEO. "So many families benefit from this food drive each year. We are so thankful Food Lion donates thousands of meals worth of food to the FRFB and our partner agencies each year. This year, they are sponsoring this event to help make this year’s NALC food drive one for the records.”

All You Need to Do is Put Out Your Food Donation, and It Will Be Picked Up

This year's Stamp Out Hunger Drive will take place on Saturday, May 14.

Participating letter carriers will provide marked bags to homes on their routes. The bags can be filled with non-perishable food donations and placed by their mailboxes by 9 a.m. Saturday, and they will be picked up by a mail carrier.

For more information, visit the Stamp Out Hunger page on the FRFB website.