For the 26th year in a row Salina letter carriers will join in a nationwide effort to help “Stamp Out Hunger”.

On Saturday carriers will collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and in post offices and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries and shelters. Nearly 1,500 letter carriers branches in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands are involved.

To donate, just place a box or can of non-perishable food next to your mailbox before your letter carrier delivers mail on the second Saturday in May. The carrier will do the rest.

With 49 million people facing hunger every day in America, including nearly 16 million children, this drive is one way you can help. Last year, the food drive collected a record 80 million pounds of nonperishable food, raising the total amount of donations picked up over the quarter-century history of the drive to more than 1.5 billion pounds.

Salina letter carriers are a part of the effort. Last year Salina letter carriers collected 27,000 pounds of food.

Along with collecting food on Saturday, an event is planned on Friday as well. To kick-off the local event Friday, there will be free doughnuts in the morning and hot dogs in the afternoon. Cash and food donations may also be dropped off at the post office Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

On Saturday help is needed at the food bank and the dock at the Post Office to help sort the bags of food that come in.  Help needed time for the food bank is 12-6pm , the Post Office dock is 10:00am to 5:00pm.

The “Stamp Out Hunger” effort is the largest single-day food drive in the United States.