Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Stamp Out Hunger returns Saturday for its 30th edition. Letter carriers will gather bags of non-perishable food items left next to mailboxes.

When it comes to stamping out hunger, one group is really carrying the mail.

Northwest Pennsylvania letter carriers will gather bags of non-perishable food items — canned foods, pasta, rice, and cereal, for example — left next to mailboxes on Saturday.

In the region, the U.S. Postal Service is working with Second Harvest Food Bank.

Stamp Out Hunger took two years off during the pandemic, but the event is back for its 30th edition.

“In 2019, the letter carriers and their volunteers in northwest Pennsylvania collected close to 102,000 pounds of food to help feed our neighbors in need,” according to a release from Second Harvest Marketing and Media Coordinator Natalie Massing. “You can participate by leaving a sturdy bag containing nonperishable food items next to your mailbox early in the morning on May 14. Food items should be in unbreakable containers such as boxes or cans.”

“Your postal carrier and volunteers for Stamp Out Hunger will be collecting donations from homes across the region and delivering them to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania or to its member agencies in the area,” Massing said.

Stamp Out Hunger is the largest single-day food drive in the nation, she said.

More information about the event can be found by visiting www.nwpafoodbank.org.