Mail Carriers Plan Food Drive Saturday

Postal carriers throughout the San Fernando Valley--and across the country--will be picking up cans of food for the needy Saturday, in what is predicted to be the largest food drive in history.

The second Saturday in May may also become the date for an annual food drive by letter carriers, said Terri Bouffiou, spokeswoman for the U. S. Postal Service in the Los Angeles area. The food drive was scheduled for May to restock the shelves of food banks, which typically run low during the summer months.

A smaller food drive, involving 200 postal union locals across the country, was held in May, 1993. But much of Los Angeles, including parts of the Valley, did not participate in that event, Bouffiou said.

This year, 200 cities in Southern California, including Los Angeles and all of the Valley, will have letter carriers collecting cans or boxes of non-perishable food. A kickoff for the food drive for the Van Nuys postal district--with representatives from 80 post offices--is planned Thursday morning in Burbank, when letter carriers will bring in food from their homes.

“I think it’s a worthy cause myself, and it can open the doors for other organizations to follow our example,” said Rick Riley, president of Branch 2086 of the National Assn. of Letter Carriers in Burbank.

“We want everyone in Southern California to know they can take part,” Bouffiou said. This year, organizers predict that 35 million to 45 million pounds will be collected, Bouffiou said.

Last year, 1 million pounds was collected from the Valley as well as from Ventura County and Santa Barbara.

Letter carriers are asking participants to leave non-perishable cans or boxes of food by their mailboxes Saturday morning. But they do not want food in glass containers, officials said.