REGIONAL — The nation’s largest annual food drive to “Stamp Out Hunger” will be conducted Saturday, May 8. On that day, letter carriers with the U.S. Postal Service will collect nonperishable donations from homes as they deliver mail along their routes.

The annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive — held in conjunction with the Postal Service — is the largest one-day food drive in the nation. The effort will help feed families in all 50 states.

“With the commitment and dedication of thousands of letter carriers, rural letter carriers, and postal and community volunteers, plus the involvement of our corporate partners, we will make a difference in helping to feed America’s hungry and surpass the 2009 record of 73.4 million pounds of food collected,” said Postmaster General Jack Potter. “The generosity of our customers and the determination of our employees have never been stronger.”

Donations from this year’s event are expected to push the overall total since the annual drive began 18 years ago to more than 1 billion pounds.

The total currently is 982.7 million pounds.

“South Carolina’s unemployment is still in double digits this year, with some counties as high as 20 percent so the need is greater than ever,” said South Carolina NALC President Cosmo Baccomo. “Please remember to give. As usual, this year, we’ll have assistance from our rural carriers throughout the state and our three major food banks, Harvest Hope Food Bank in the Midlands, Lowcountry Food Bank in Charleston and Upstate Food Bank in Greenville. With their help last year, we brought home over 1 million pounds of food. And the great thing about it is that it benefits the people within the community where it is donated.”

Making a donation is easy. Customers can leave their nonperishable food donation in a bag near their mailbox Saturday, May 8, before their letter carrier arrives.

Letter carriers will collect the donations during normal deliveries. Anyone who has questions about the drive at their location should ask their letter carrier or contact their local post office.

More than 125 million postcards — designed for the first time by the Postal Service and cosponsored by the Campbell Soup Company — will be mailed to customers to remind them of the drive.

WHAT TO GIVE:

Most-wanted foods include:

• Canned meats (tuna, chicken, salmon).

• Canned and boxed meals (soup, chili, stew, macaroni and cheese).

• Canned or dried beans and peas (black, pinto, lentils).

• Pasta, rice cereal.

• Canned fruits.

• 100 percent fruit juice (canned, plastic or boxed).

• Canned vegetables.

• Cooking oil.

• Boxed cooking mixes (pancake, breads).

WHAT NOT TO GIVE:

Please NO:

• Rusty or unlabeled cans.

• Glass containers.

• Perishable items.

• Homemade items.

• Noncommercial canned or packaged items.

• Alcoholic beverages or mixes or soda.

• Open or used items.