Letter carriers across Streator will collect non-perishable food donations on Saturday, May 9, as part of the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, an annual effort to combat food insecurity in communities nationwide.

The drive, now in its 32nd year, asks residents to leave bags of non-perishable food by their mailboxes on Saturday, May 9. Letter carriers will pick up donations while delivering mail or return with a vehicle if the donation is too large for their mailbag. Donations can also be dropped off at the Streator Post Office.

All food collected locally goes directly to the Streatorland Food Pantry to help residents in need.

“Letter carriers travel through the communities daily, often coming face to face with a sad reality for too many, hunger,” the Streator Post Office said in a statement.

The timing of the spring food drive is critical. Food banks and pantries typically receive the majority of donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.

Nationally, the drive has collected well over 1.9 billion pounds of food over 32 years. More than 44 million Americans are unsure where their next meal will come from, according to the letter carriers. More than 13 million are children, and nearly 5.5 million seniors over age 60 are food insecure.

For more information, call the Streator Post Office at 815-672-2606.