Fri, May 9, 2008 (2:05 a.m.)

On Saturday all of us will have a convenient way to help relieve the hunger and malnutrition that afflicts thousands of people here in Southern Nevada and more than 35 million people nationwide.

All it will take is a bagful or two of food and a walk to the mailbox. The National Association of Letter Carriers will do the rest.

For the 16th year, letter carriers will pick up nonperishable food left at homes and businesses where they collect and deliver mail. All they ask is that donors avoid expired items and glass containers.

Local food banks, shelters and other community providers will be able to restock their shelves, and the food will be distributed in the community where it was collected.

The postal union’s goal is to top the 70.7 million pounds of food that were collected last year. The timing could not be better for a record-setting rate of participation because food prices are steadily climbing.

Increased prices are forcing many households that are short on food to cut back even more. The higher prices are also causing reduced inventories at food banks, pantries, shelters and other centers that distribute food to those in need, the numbers of whom are growing every year.

The Food Research and Action Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, says 10.4 percent of the adults and 17.2 percent of the children in “this very wealthy country” are at risk of hunger.

We hope there is so much food left out Saturday that letter carriers have to call for extra trucks.