Postal carriers holding annual food drive Sat.

The U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will conduct the nation's largest single-day food drive on Saturday.

"Together, we are continuing to make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans in need," said District Manager Kim Quayle. "The Postal Service is proud to play a major role with our carriers, corporate partners and local community organizations to help stamp out hunger."

The Stamp Out Hunger food drive is a nationwide effort that provides food to local food banks and pantries that rely heavily on donations. With more than 50 million Americans living at risk of hunger, food banks across the country continue to experience record demand for emergency food assistance.

Local letter carriers will collect food donations left at the mailboxes of generous Americans in more than 10,000 communities and deliver them to food banks and other hunger relief organizations, such as pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.

Now in its 21st year, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive is the nation's largest single-day food drive, having collected more than one billion pounds of food since its inception in 1993. In 2012, generous Americans donated more than 70 million pounds of food, which marked the ninth consecutive year that at least 70 million pounds were collected.

Despite the generosity of millions of Americans who have supported the letter carriers' food drive in previous years, the need for food assistance still exists for millions of families. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual study measuring food security in the United States, more than 50 million Americans, including nearly 17 million children, are food insecure, meaning they live at risk of hunger.

Helping Stamp Out Hunger is as easy as checking your mailbox. Just leave a bag of non-perishable food items by your mailbox on Saturday (May 11). Your letter carrier will then pick up and deliver the food to a local food bank. Examples of non-perishable items include peanut butter, canned soup, canned meats and fish, canned vegetables, fruits and juices, boxed goods (such as cereal), and pasta and rice.

For more information about the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, ask your letter carrier, contact your local post office, or visit either www.helpstampouthunger.com or www.facebook.com/StampOutHunger, and follow the drive at www.twitter.com/StampOutHunger.