On Saturday, letter carriers want to make pick-ups as well as deliveries.

May 12 marks the United States Postal Service’s “Stamp Out Hunger” nationwide food drive.

According to Debra Fetterly with the Alabama District of USPS, hunger is a reality for about one in six people in the United States. Nearly 49 million Americans, including 16 million children, are struggling with hunger.

And those numbers reflect many people who are hard-working adults and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet.

To help fight hunger in America, about 210,000 letter carriers across the nation will collect food donations left at mailboxes in more than 10,000 communities. The carriers will deliver the food to local food banks.

This is the 20th anniversary of “Stamp Out Hunger” and Fetterly said the USPS has collected more than one billion pounds of food since 1993. Last year, Americans donated 70.2 million pounds of food. That marked the eighth consecutive year that at least 70 million pounds of food have been collected.

The USPS is asking people to leave a bag of non-perishable food where letter carriers normally deliver mail on Saturday. Any canned item, including soup, meats, vegetables, fruits and juices are good choices, according to the USPS. Boxed goods, such as cereal, along with pasta and rice are also welcomed donations.

For more information about the annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, ask your letter carrier, contact your local post office or visit www.helpstampouthunger.com.