The National Association of Letter Carriers will hold the nation's largest single-day Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive May 10.

To participate in the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, residents are encouraged to leave factory-sealed, non-perishable food items in a sturdy bag next to their mailbox prior to the time of their regular mail delivery May 10. Non-perishable foods include items not in glass containers such as canned soup, canned vegetables, canned tuna, pasta, rice or cereal. Local letter carriers will collect these food donations as they deliver the mail and provide them to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania and other local member agencies.

The food drive's timing is crucial. Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the November-December holiday season. By springtime, many pantries are depleted, entering the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need. Currently, 49 million Americans – one in six – are unsure where their next meal is coming from. Sixteen million are children and nearly 5 million are seniors over age 60 that are food insecure.

Participating post offices include Allentown, Bethlehem, Coopersburg, Emmaus, Macungie and Center Valley.