INDIANAPOLIS — This Saturday, residents can leave non-perishable food items in bags in their mailboxes for their letter carrier to pick up for local food banks.

This is the 31st year of the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Letter carriers throughout Indiana will participate in the largest one-day food drive by collecting donated non-perishable food items left in bags at mailboxes for local food banks. The second Saturday in May is the traditional Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day.

Over the course of its 30-year history, the drive has collected well over 1.82 billion pounds of food, thanks to the Postal Service universal delivery network that spans the entire nation.

The need for food donations is great. Currently, more than 35 million Americans are unsure where their next meal is coming from. More than 12 million are children who feel hunger’s impact on their overall health and scholastic performance. Additionally, nearly 5.2 million seniors over age 60 are food insecure, with many who live on fixed incomes often too embarrassed to ask for help.

The timing of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive most of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.

The community can help by bagging donations of non-perishable food items and setting them by the mailbox ahead of regular mail collection time on Saturday, May 13. Your letter carrier will do the rest.