Postal workers in Niles and Buchanan are asking for the community’s support this weekend as they join letter carriers across the country in the nation’s largest single-day food drive.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, hosted each year by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is an effort to support local food banks and the 48 million Americans who struggle with hunger every day.

Residents can join their local post office and help “Stamp Out Hunger” by leaving non-perishable food items in a sturdy bag near their mailboxes on May 14.

A letter carrier will collect the donations for delivery to local food banks and pantries with the help of many volunteers. Items will then be distributed to those facing hunger in Niles and Buchanan.

Food pantries benefitting from the drive in Niles are the Salvation Army, St. Mary’s Christian Service Center and First Presbyterian Church. Red Bud Area Ministries in Buchanan will receive food donations from the Buchanan drive.

More than 21,000 pounds of food was collected during last year’s drive in Niles.

“Food insecurity means living at risk of hunger and not knowing where the next meal is coming from,” said Juan Hernandez, Jr., of the Niles post office. “49 million or one in six Americans are food insecure. Nearly 16 million or one in five are children. Seniors have to decide between paying rent and utilities or having enough food. Let’s all help one another by helping those in need. Let’s participate and make this year’s NALC food drive a successful one.”

The “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive was created in 1993 by the National Association of Letter Carriers to encourage communities to come together in an effort to stock the shelves of food banks and pantries nationwide. The event is held on the second Saturday of May each year. For 23 years, the U.S. Postal Service and local letter carriers have worked together to contribute to the national food drive, delivering 1.4 billion of pounds of donated food to help those in need.