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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- The "Stamp Out Hunger" campaign is coming to your neighborhood Saturday.

All it takes is a browse through your pantry and a quick trip to the mailbox, and you could help feed a family in need in southern Colorado.

For the past 18 years, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has partnered with food banks nationwide, collecting non-perishable foods while on their mail routes. To date, the program has collected more than one billion pounds of food and set a record with 77.1 million pounds donated last year.

The program is also setting records in Colorado Springs.

"Last year we collected about 190,000 pounds, which is a record," USPS spokesman Ron Perry said. "This year we hope to break that record as well. But the main thrust is to get food for the people who are in need."

The donations collected will be given to Care and Share to distribute to those in need and Community Relations Director Shannon Coker said the food drive could not come at a better time.

"So much of the population we serve are children," Coker said.  "Going into the summer, so many kids are out of school, not receiving free or reduced breakfasts and lunches. We at Care and Share need to step up our game to get as much food as we possibly can in for the summer, so this food drive is timed very perfectly. We need as much help as we possibly can."

Though current economic conditions have made it difficult for many, Perry and Coker said anything helps.

"Whatever you can give, we're not asking you to give a whole lot," Perry said. "We're just asking you to give what you can. It all rolls into a bigger package later."

As Coker explained, the process is quite simple.

"Don't just think about hunger on one day, think about it year-round, and do what you can on Saturday," Coker said.  "It's so simple, all you need to do is walk to your mailbox, come back and you've done good."

To participate in "Stamp Out Hunger," leave a bag of non-perishable food items or a check donation near your mailbox on Saturday. If you do not get your donation to the mailbox before the mail carrier arrives, you can drop it off at a post office.

Reported by: Kelly Werthmann