The National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is celebrating its 20th anniversary Saturday, May 12.

The drive is the largest one-day food-collection event in the nation and has helped millions of American families in need of assistance.

Last year, letter carriers collected 70.2 million pounds of food, making the overall amount of donations over the history of the drive more than 1.1 billion pounds.

The Clanton Post Office has been participating in the food drive for 15 years now. Chilton County alone raised 4,000 pounds last year.

Part of the event’s success is its accessibility—according to Charlie Sanders, the delivery supervisor at the post office, to participate Saturday you simply place a container of non-perishable food items beside your mailbox to be delivered to the Chilton County Assistance Center.

Sanders, one of the many workers who make the drive possible, said “it’s important because the food is kept in Chilton County. It’s a way for the local post offices to support people in the county in a time of need.”

The Clanton Post Office is looking forward to another successful year—Chilton County’s goal is to raise 4,000 pounds of food again in 2012.

Anyone who will be out of town for the weekend can still participate by taking donations to the post office Friday.