Spring’s peak season is here — and the biggest food drive moment of the year is just around the corner…
April is the heart of spring food drive season. Across the country, communities are stepping outside, reconnecting with neighbors, and rallying around a shared purpose: making sure everyone has access to nutritious food. For food banks and pantries, it’s one of the most energized, and opportunity-rich, moments of the entire calendar year.
At #GiveHealthy, we support organizations of all sizes running spring drives, from neighborhood pantry campaigns to regional multi-site efforts. And as May approaches, we’re also helping our food bank partners prepare for the biggest food drive moment of the year: Stamp Out Hunger.
The Biggest Food Drive in America is Coming
Every May, letter carriers across the United States fan out across their routes and collect donated food left on doorsteps by neighbors. Stamp Out Hunger, organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), is the single largest one-day food drive in the country, collecting tens of millions of pounds of food annually for local food banks and pantries.
It’s a remarkable model: one day, one unified effort, and a nationwide network of trusted community connectors, your mail carrier, doing the collecting. But not every donor can leave food by the mailbox. That’s exactly where #GiveHealthy comes in.
Stamp Out Hunger is coming May 9, 2026, make it a nutrition-forward moment!
A growing number of our drive organizers are hosting a #GiveHealthy drive alongside Stamp Out Hunger, giving community members who can’t participate in the doorstep collection a meaningful alternative: an online donation directed toward fresh, healthy food.
It’s a natural complement and the result is a more complete campaign: more donors reached, more dollars raised, and a stronger signal to the community that your organization is committed to healthy food access.
We’ve made it easy, quick, and effortless to start an online Stamp Out Hunger food drive with our Stamp Out Hunger Toolkit!
Complete with PR, email, and social templates to promote your drive and conduct outreach. It only takes a few minutes to get started, email theteam@givehealthy.org to launch your drive.
The TSA Agents Are Going Hungry
Every day, tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration officers show up at airports across the country. They staff the checkpoints, screen the bags, and keep the lines moving, the same lines that will be especially long this spring break season. Many of them are doing all of this right now without a paycheck.
The partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown that began on February 14, 2026 has left roughly 61,000 TSA employees working without their regular pay. More than 450 officers have quit since the shutdown began, and those who remain are quietly managing a level of financial stress that most travelers in those security lines have no idea is happening on the other side of the checkpoint.
“Every day I come to the airport and I look at the food drive, see what things I can get for my family.” — TSA officer, speaking to Fortune
That quote is from a TSA officer interviewed by Fortune this week. It’s one of many similar accounts emerging from airports nationwide — workers who are turning to food banks and airport donation drives just to put food on the table while they continue to show up for work.
We’ve Seen This Before, and We’ve Seen Food Banks and Pantries Step up
Last fall, during the government shutdown that stretched from October into November 2025, the longest in U.S. history, TSA workers faced the same impossible situation. And communities responded.
Food banks across the country mobilized quickly. The Alameda County Community Food Bank delivered packages of fresh produce, eggs, and pantry staples directly to TSA officers at Oakland Airport. The Community Food Bank of New Jersey brought three tractor-trailers of food to Newark Airport, serving 2,000 families. Food Lifeline deployed its mobile market to Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, serving 341 workers in a single event. Feeding South Florida held distributions in Homestead that brought hundreds of federal workers through the line during their lunch breaks.
That same shutdown also triggered a SNAP crisis. The demand was staggering, and the generosity of donors, volunteers, and partner organizations was the only thing that kept the system from breaking.
#GiveHealthy is Here to Make Supporting TSA Workers Easy
If you’re a food bank or pantry near a major airport with a lot of demand to meet and not a lot of time, consider reaching out to your donor base to start an online #GiveHealthy food drive for TSA workers. Starting a drive is free and easy to set up, and will allow your donors to raise healthy food for the TSA workers in your area, without a heavy lift for you.
Email theteam@givehealthy.org to help you get this effort started.
Current News
Food is Medicine Releases Blueprint for Medically Tailored Meals
The Food is Medicine Coalition recently released its first-ever national blueprint to help sustainably integrate medically tailored meals into the U.S. healthcare system. The framework provides guidance for policymakers, healthcare providers, and nonprofits on how to scale these programs by aligning them with existing regulations, standardizing quality, and creating pathways for insurance reimbursement—especially through Medicaid. The blueprint aims to address ongoing challenges that have kept many programs dependent on short-term grants, including inconsistent funding and lack of clear policy direction. Leaders say this roadmap is a major step toward making “Food is Medicine” a permanent, scalable solution that improves health outcomes while strengthening the nutrition safety net.
(Food is Medicine Coalition, 4 minute read)
SNAP Work Requirements: How Food Banks are Responding
As new SNAP work requirements roll out nationwide, food banks and pantries are preparing for increased demand as some individuals lose access to benefits. Many organizations are expanding services, strengthening partnerships, and providing additional support like job training referrals to help clients meet eligibility requirements or navigate the changes. However, leaders emphasize that these efforts can only partially offset the impact, as SNAP provides far more food assistance than the charitable food system alone. The situation highlights growing concern that stricter requirements may leave more households food insecure, placing additional strain on already stretched hunger-relief networks.
(Food Bank News, 7 minute read)
Hunger Relief Model, Born in Canada, Comes to the U.S.
A community-centered hunger relief model that originated in Canada is beginning to expand into the United States, offering a more holistic approach than traditional food banks. In New Hampshire, Gather is among the first organizations adopting this model, shifting beyond food distribution to include community meals, education, and programs that address the root causes of food insecurity while fostering dignity and connection. Early efforts show how this approach can strengthen relationships within communities and create more supportive, inclusive spaces for those seeking food assistance. Advocates say models like this—led by organizations such as Gather—could help reshape hunger relief in the U.S. by pairing immediate food access with long-term community empowerment.
(Food Bank News, 6 minute read)
Thanks for reading! – #GIVEHEALTHY Team
