McMinnville Post Office will be collecting canned and nonperishable food donations for Warren County Emergency Food Bank this Saturday, May 11.

Stamp Out Hunger is an annual food drive.

“This event is critical to keeping the shelves stocked at our local food bank,” said McMinnville postmaster Brent Nunley. “Our carriers will be geared up and ready to pick up non-perishable food items this Saturday.”

Participation is easy. Residents can place food items in their mailbox and those will be picked up as the carriers travel their routes. This is the preferred method. If there is too much food, it can be placed in a bag at put at the base of the mailbox.

Prior to the event, city residents will find plastic bags from Super Rama in their mailboxes. Those were furnished by the grocery store to support the collection effort, although any bag can be used. 

The food collected will be weighed in then loaded onto a large truck provided by Dr Pepper and taken to the food bank.

“With the summer months approaching, we need to make sure to keep the food bank stocked,” said Nunley. “So many kids rely on the meals they get at school as their main source of food, we need to be ready when schools let out for the summer.”

McMinnville letter carriers collect more than 10,000 pounds of food each year. 

Stamp Out Hunger is conducted each year on the second Saturday of May. It’s billed as the nation’s largest single-day food drive, taking place in some 10,000 cities in all 50 states.

According to information furnished by the National Association of Letter Carriers, hunger affects about 50 million people around the country.