Although you might not realize it, the odds are very good that you know someone who is struggling to feed themselves or his or her families.

About one in six Americans goes hungry or wonders where their next meal is going to come from.

It’s a sobering statistic.

Fortunately, there is something we all can do this weekend to help our friends and neighbors who are scraping to get by.

It’s called the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, put on each year by the National Association of Letter Carriers (the guys and gals that deliver your mail every day).

This year’s drive is Saturday. It’s the nation’s largest single-day food drive.

We encourage everyone to participate. There’s really no excuse not to.

It’s extremely easy and it won’t cost you much of anything.

All you have to do is find some non-perishable food items — you might have some in your cabinet right now — and place them in a sturdy bag near your mailbox. Just make sure it’s out before your carrier arrives.

As letter carriers deliver the mail Saturday, they will pick up the bags and bring them to local food pantries. In Niles, donations will go to the Niles Salvation Army, St. Mary’s Christian Services Center and the Niles First Presbyterian Church.

These food pantries rely on the food collected from this drive to carry them through the spring and summer months, when donations are typically on the decline. If we don’t participate Saturday, their shelves will go empty sooner rather than later, leaving more of our community members going hungry.

Donations have been down over the past few years, but we can help turn things around by participating and reminding our neighbors, friends and families to participate as well.

It’s a simple way to help out those in need.

So fill up a bag and put it by your mailbox this Saturday.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Craig Haupert, Ambrosia Neldon, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.