Local letter carriers will be part of a nationwide effort Saturday to end hunger in the area.

The annual “Stamp Out Hunger” event will be held for the 14th consecutive year throughout Lawrence County.

To participate, residents are asked to leave a sturdy bag of nonperishable food items as well as boxed or canned food items next to their mailboxes before mail delivery Saturday. Letter carriers then will collect the food and deliver it to local food pantries.

Alan Spitz, postmaster at the Proctorville Post Office, said the project is a good way for the seven carriers at his office to make a difference in the community.

“Yeah, it’s an inconvenience to us, but it’s worth it,” Spitz said.

He said the food collected will be donated to food pantries at the Church of Christ and New Hope United Methodist Church, which administers the Rome Ministerial Association’s pantry. Spitz said the church members try to make the mail carriers’ job easier by following behind them and collecting the food as it is picked up.

Barrels also have been set up at Foodfair and Kroger in Proctorville for those who would like to donate food at those sites.

Last year, there were more than 2 tons of food collected in the Proctorville/Rome area, Spitz said.

The Ironton post office is also participating in the food drive Saturday, said Dave Manring, officer in charge.

“It gives everybody in the community an opportunity to help give back. If they can put out a couple of cans of food, it can really make a difference,” Manring said. “In a small way, we can all make a difference.”

The City Welfare Mission will receive the food from the Ironton food drive. Last year, they collected more than three tons.

“Stamp Out Hunger” is the largest single-day food drive conducted by any organization. More than 240,000 letter carriers in 10,000 communities participated last year and collected about 71 million pounds of food.

For more information contact the nearest post office or log on to www.stampouthunger2006.com.