On Saturday, May 12, letter carriers in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America, including LaFayette, will deliver much more than mail when they walk and drive along their postal routes.

Postal carriers will also collect the goodness and compassion of their postal customers as they participate in the ninth annual NALC National Food Drive.

In the drive, carriers collect non-perishable food donations left in mailboxes and post offices and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries, and shelters.

The effort of the 315,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO) has become the largest one-day food drive in the nation’s history and has resulted in delivery of more than 392.3 million pounds of donations to community food banks and pantries over the past eight years.

The success is in its simplicity.

All citizens need to do is to place a box or can of non-perishable food next to their mailbox before their letter carrier delivers mail on Saturday, May 12, and the carrier does all the rest. The food will be taken back to the LaFayette Post Office, sorted, and then sent onto the Walker County Food Pantry, where it is available for needy families.

An estimated 30 million people go hungry every day in America, and more than 12 million children. This drive is one way people can help those right here in Walker County.

NALC president Vincent R. Sombrotto said the results of the food drive are a clear indication of how letter carriers feel about their communities.

“Letter carriers are the heart and eyes of the community, walking and driving through every neighborhood and up and down every street,” Sombrotto said. “They see, first-hand, the need and recognize the hardship and despair that denies families even the basic necessities of life. We are proud to be able to serve as the means for our postal customers to help those who need assistance in their community and hopefully to provide sustenance in body and spirit that will lead to a better life.”

Thanks to the LaFayette Postmaster and the rural carriers, all mail routes served by the LaFayette Post Office will participate in the food drive