One bag of food by your mailbox sounds almost too easy, until you hear what it does for families in Henderson County. We sit down with Arcavia from the National Association of Letter Carriers to break down Stamp Out Hunger, the largest single-day food drive in the nation, and why it lands at the exact moment local pantries need a boost. Arcavia also shares her own full-circle story of standing in a food bank after a house fire, then spending years making sure other families get the same kind of support.

We’re also joined by Bethany from IAM, Emily from the Salvation Army, and Sarah Staggs from The Storehouse to explain what food insecurity really looks like in Western North Carolina and how groceries connect to everything else: rent, utilities, medication, and the stress of trying to keep a household steady. You’ll hear how many neighbors are being served, why demand can spike suddenly, and how this one weekend can supply a meaningful share of a pantry’s yearly needs.

We get practical too. We talk through what to donate (think canned goods, soup, pasta, rice, beans, cereal, peanut butter, tuna), and what to avoid: no perishable items, no glass jars, nothing homemade, and nothing expired. The goal is simple and local: leave a bag next to your mailbox on the second Saturday in May, and your letter carrier picks it up on the normal route so it can go straight back into our community.

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