The National Association of Letter Carriers annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive netted 30,000 pounds of food for the Issaquah Food Bank (IFB) this month.

IFB Executive Director, Cherie Meier, said that her organization was enormously grateful to the letter carriers for their hard work, taking on the extra burden of collecting donations during their routes.

“I want those people who took part to know how much we appreciate them,” she said. “We know that it takes a lot of time and effort.”

Meier said the donations were particularly timely, with summer holidays being an especially busy time for the food bank.

“In school, the kids in low income families usually get a free breakfast and free lunch,” she said. “But in holiday times, there is an extra burden on these families, and often they turn to the food bank. Without the efforts of people like the letter carriers, we would not be able to help as many families as we do.”

Since letter carriers began collecting donations of food 18 years ago, they have contributed more than 1 billion pounds of food to food banks.