Local letter carriers are urging Coweta County residents to leave non-perishable food donations either in or beside their mailboxes for this year’s “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, taking place Saturday.

“The way the economy is right now, there are a lot of hungry folks out there, and no jobs,” said Donna Vogt-Demmons, food drive coordinator.

“More and more people are going to food banks because there are no jobs,” said Vogt-Demmons.

Derenda Rowe, executive director of One Roof Ecumenical Alliance Outreach Inc. in Newnan, confirmed that, “With the downturn in the economy, our number of people we feed has tripled in the last three years.”

In 2009 the local food pantry gave 15,286 people 10 days of food each, Rowe said.

“And we have fed approximately 4,500 people in the first four months of this year,” she said.

Donations from this Saturday’s “Stamp Out Hunger” drive will go not just to One Roof, but also to the Salvation Army, the First Newnan Seventh Day Adventist Church, the First Baptist Church of Grantville, Crossroads Baptist Church and Oak Lawn Baptist Church, all of which sponsor programs to feed local people.

“We want everybody to participate,” said Vogt-Demmons.

You can either place donated non-perishable food items into the mailbox, or wrap them in a bag attached to the mailbox, or place them in a box beside the mailbox, she said.

“But the items have to be sealed and unopened,” Vogt-Demmons stressed.

It’s better to give items that are in plastic or cardboard containers rather than in glass containers, “but we’ll take it, anyway,” she said.

U.S. Postal Service letter carriers will sort through the items on the local docks following the drive.

The annual food drive is sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Last year about 10,000 pounds of food was collected. According to Vogt-Demmons, one rural carrier delivering in the area of Raymond picked up 441 pounds of food last year. Still another carrier had to make a trip back to the post office to empty her vehicle before returning to finish her route.

“We appreciate their help with the pantry,” said Rowe, who pointed out the local food pantry has been in operation for 26 years and is filled each year by schools, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, community volunteers — and, of course, the postal workers through their annual event.

“The food goes out almost as fast as it comes in,” said Rowe. “That’s why we need the continued help of the community to feed those who are struggling.”