For the Rapids City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The 2019 Letter Carriers Food Drive will be held May 11.

For 27 years, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) has conducted a nationwide food drive on the second Saturday in May. Using the postal networks, letter carriers collect non-perishable food donations on that day as they deliver mail along their postal routes. It is held in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

Among the many local volunteer groups that will help are the United Way, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, National Guard units, American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, Boy/Girl Scouts, various student groups, Rotary Clubs, and AARP groups.

For more than a decade, the drive has annually collected more than 70 million pounds of food.

The top requested non-perishable food items are: cereal, pasta, pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, canned meals – such as soups, chili and pasta, 100 percent juice, peanut butter, macaroni & cheese, canned protein – tuna, chicken and turkey, canned or dry beans.

Non-perishable food donations may be left in a bag by your mailbox on May 11. No special bags are required.

The food will be donated to local food banks.