If you have received a brown paper bag in your mailbox recently, do not discard it as junk mail.

The National Association of Letter Carriers in partnership with Campbell Soup Company is collecting non-perishable canned foods in these bags for the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

On Saturday, May 11, postal carriers will pick the bags up when left by a mailbox, and the canned goods will be delivered to a local food bank or pantry. The effort, now in its 21st year, is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, and in 2012, 70.5 million pounds of food were donated.

Demopolis postmaster Jeanette Jones said this drive is a great opportunity for people to give back to the community.

“We don’t always know who is in need,” Jones said. “Sometimes people don’t tell others when they need help, and this is a way to help those people. It’s our way of saying we care about you.”

Jones added that the Demopolis post office generally brings in a lot of food, and that they have already collected some this year.

“We’ve already started collecting, and we will continue collecting after May 11, as long as people are putting the bags out,” she said.

If you did not receive a bag in your mailbox, but would like to participate in the food drive, bags are available at the post office.

“It’s good to know that people care because everyone is in need at some point or another in their life,” Jones said.