Postal Workers Will Collect Mail and Food

Don’t be surprised if your mail carrier comes looking for handouts in May.

U.S. postal carriers across the nation will be collecting canned goods May 9 as part of the sixth annual National Letter Carrier Food Drive--the largest single-day food drive in the United States. The mass collection of canned goods is intended to supplement food banks, which find their supplies dwindling in summer months.

Last year, postal workers collected more than 73 million pounds of food.

Participating is easy--unless you’re the postal worker who has to lug all the canned goods. Just leave nonperishable items by the mailbox before your mail carrier arrives May 9. The food will be collected and taken to local food banks, where it will be routed to hungry families. The drive is sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, the National Assn. of Letter Carriers, the National Rural Letter Carriers Assn. and the United Way.