Saturday gives good reason to put more than the mail out for your U.S. Postal Service carrier.

For 27 years, the National Association of Letter Carriers has annually conducted its Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive every second Saturday in May in more than 10,000 cities and towns across America. It’s the largest one-day food drive in the nation.

And it relies on residents to set food items out like mail.

This year, it happens Saturday. In preparation, a number of mail carriers have even been handing out special bags along with the mail to be filled with food and other items.

The drive last year resulted in carriers collecting 71.6 million pounds of food, according to the association. Overall, the drive has delivered more than 1 billion pounds of food in the past 25 years, involving nearly 1,500 branches in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands.

Making a donation is easy. Residents can place a box or can of non-perishable food next to their mailbox Saturday before the letter carrier delivers mail. The carrier will do the rest.

The food then will be sorted and delivered to area community churches, food banks and food pantries.

With 42 million people facing hunger every day in America, including 13 million children, this drive is one way to help those locally who need help.

While all non-perishable donations are welcome, foods high in protein — canned tuna, salmon, beans and peanut butter — are most needed.

Canned fruits and vegetables; whole grain, low-sugar cereals; macaroni and cheese dinners; and 100% fruit juice also top the list of most needed items.

The U.S. Postal Service, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, AFL-CIO, United Way, Valassis and Valpak Direct Marketing Systems all support this year’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive.