Adding yet another feather to their cap, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is rolling out its 23rd annual food collection drive in Wellington this Saturday, May 9.

Since its start in 1993, this food drive has collected more than one billion pounds of non-perishable items to help replenish stocks in food banks and charities, across the US.

The current drive, being seen as the nation's largest one-day attempt to squash out hunger, is a joint effort by the NALC along with the US Postal Service, the National Rural Carriers Association, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the National Electrical Contractors Association-Nebraska, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Omaha Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, Feeding America and United Way of the Midlands.

The drive named the "Stamp Out Hunger" drive will see letter carriers collect donations of non-perishable food items like canned meat, peanut butter, soup, juice, rice, cereal, pasta, rice and canned vegetables in special blue bags distributed to area residents. They shall do so en route the usual postal routes they take. Those willing to donate should either leave the bags near their mailboxes by Saturday morning or drop the food items at the nearest post office on their own. However, residents are advised to refrain from donating glass containers and see to it that the food items are not expired.

A drive of such mammoth proportions has been possible only by the combined efforts of letter carriers, postal employees and volunteers. In an attempt to feed one in six people in the US who live with food insecurity, this drive collects over 60,000 to 70,000 pounds of food annually.

Susan Musson from the Wellington Food Bank lauds the effort by saying, "This food drive comes at a time when we need it the most. We appreciate all the post office does for us and the outpouring of support from our community".