'Stamp Out Hunger' food drive kicks off nationwide

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - Letter carrier Darla Bullet has a special delivery. She's dropping off bags for the annual letter carrier's food drive.

The carriers will put a single bag or a couple of bags into your mailbox... this is what they look like," she said. "Put the food in there, leave it inside your mailbox or bottom of your mailbox."

Letter carriers in every city participate in the Stamp Out Hunger campaign, which is a one-day event that has a 40-year history, and it started right here in Phoenix and Glendale.

"It is the most important drive for us for the summer, for all of that holiday food we received in November, December... it's gone, we've used it for the first three months of the year," Jerry Brown said.

Brown, with St. Mary's Food Bank, says last year nationwide 80 million pounds of food were collected and two million pounds were collected in Arizona.

"This is the hardest time, yeah kids are not in school getting free breakfast, free lunches," he said. "In summer, this is the one drive that makes or breaks it for the food bank in the summer."

"Family Circle" cartoonist and former Arizona resident, Bill Keane, who passed away in 2011, drew this first poster for the drive. The tradition continues today and so does the desire to help.

"I just want to be a part of it," Bullet said. "I can't fill the food banks, but I can be a part of it."