MARQUETTE — The National Association of Letter Carriers’s 27th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is May 11.

With that date drawing ever closer, food drive coordinators in hundreds of NALC branches across America are finalizing their preparations for the nation’s largest one-day food collection event designed to help replenish local food banks in the communities they serve, according to a press release.

On May 11, rural and city letter carriers from around the country carry an extra load — quite literally — on top of their regular duties, by collecting countless pounds of food donations from the public to feed those members of the community who are struggling to overcome depravation and hunger. These donations help to directly restock food banks, pantries and shelters within the local communities they are collected.

Since 1993, when the national food drive began, letter carriers in every part of the country have worked with family members, friends, other postal co-workers and allies to use the second Saturday in May as a day to give something back to the communities that know and trust us.

Last year, the food drive collected a record 70 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.

Angie LeDuc of the Marquette Post Office reported that 15,000 pounds of food were collected in Marquette last year. She said the workers were pleased to see the large amounts of participation by area residents.

By the time this national food drive rolls around each year, the shelves of food pantries are often nearly empty, turning the hard work on Food Drive Day into a much-needed replenishment with summer fast approaching.

As the Marquette mail carriers bring the food back to the post office, it is divided up and distributed to St. Vincent DePaul, Salvation Army, Harbor House, Warming Center, and Janzen House.

Participating in this year’s Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger food drive is simple. Just leave non-perishable food donations in a bag by your mailbox on May 11 and your letter carrier will do the rest.

For more information, contact Marquette Post Office at 906-226-9963 or the United Way office at 906-226-8171.