Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive coming Saturday

Wichita area letter carriers will hold their annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Saturday.

Mail carriers will collect nonperishable food in bags left by mailboxes before mail delivery on May 13 and deliver them to local food banks and pantries.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has collected more than 1.5 billion pounds of food since its inception 25 years ago. Last year, 80 million pounds of nonperishable food was donated nationwide, including 582,951 pounds in Kansas.

Examples of nonperishable items are peanut butter, canned soup, canned meats, canned vegetables, fruits and juices, boxed goods (such as cereal), pasta and rice. Do not donate items that have expired or are in glass containers.

Among the Kansas cities with letter carriers collecting food on their routes on Saturday are Chanute, Coffeyville, Colby, Columbus, Ellinwood, Emporia, Iola, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays, Hutchinson, Horton, Independence, Kansas City, Lawrence, Manhattan, Mankato, McPherson, Ottawa, Parsons, Pittsburg, Pratt, Salina, Shawnee Mission, Topeka and Wichita.

Food banks and pantries often receive the majority of their donations during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. By springtime, however, many pantries are depleted, meaning they enter the summer low on supplies at a time when many school breakfast and lunch programs are not available to children in need.

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive coming Saturday."