On Saturday, May 11, residents in Alabama and across America will be asked to join the U.S. Postal Service and its letter carriers to combat one of this nation’s fastest growing problems — hunger —by leaving food at their mailboxes.

This one-day food drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive across America — including Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. In 2012, letter carriers nationally collected more than 70 million pounds of food donated by customers on their delivery routes. Nearly 1.2 billion pounds of food have been collected since the food drive began in 1993.

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 — in Baldwin County, the recipients are Prodisee Pantry, Ecumenical Ministries and Bay Area Food Bank.

"Prodisee Pantry was delighted to learn that the Daphne/Spanish Fort Postmaster selected us to receive this year's Stamp Out Hunger food drive," said Deann Servos, Prodisee Pantry director. 

Examples of non-perishable items include:

• Peanut butter

• Canned soup

• Canned meats and fish

• Canned vegetables, fruits and juices

• Boxed goods (such as cereal)

• Pasta and rice

For more information about the annual food drive, visit www.helpstampouthunger.com.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.