The Albert Lea branch No. 718 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, along with the rural carriers, will participate in the 21st annual NALC food drive on Saturday. This is the 19th year the Albert Lea branch has taken an active role in the drive.

More than 70 million pounds of food was collected nationwide in last year’s drive raising the total amount of donations picked up over the history of the drive to nearly 1.2 billion pounds.

Locally, the Albert Lea carriers collected 9,350 pounds last year.

The city and rural carriers will collect food at or by a mailbox during the normal delivery of mail on Saturday. The collected food will be weighed at the post office and immediately released to the Albert Lea food shelves for distribution.

Donations of non-perishable food items can be left by mailboxes on Saturday for pick-up.