Mail carriers will help bolster food pantries throughout the nation by collecting nonperishable goods from postal customers during the Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive on May 9.

The annual event is the largest one-day food drive in the country, said retired mail carrier Sandy Gaunce.

The Simi Valley resident is coordinating efforts for the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers, which includes Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks and Agoura.

"It's a good feeling when you see all the food coming in. This year the need is even greater because there are so many people out of work," Gaunce said.

Most collected items are donated to community food banks, pantries and shelters in residents' own backyards.

"The goal is to keep the food in the city where it's donated," Gaunce said.

Since the food drive takes place in the spring, it replenishes provisions in time for summer, when children are home from school.

"It carries families through the summer months," she said.

Gaunce delivered mail in Simi Valley for 25 years before retiring April 1. The mother of six said she began volunteering for the USPS food drive 13 years ago because she benefited from a good deed in the 1960s while raising her family with a disabled husband.

"One day someone rang the doorbell, and I found a Christmas tree and a box of food were left there. I will never forget that," she said.

Statistics show that local residents have been generous in the past.

Moorpark mail carriers collected 6,000 pounds of food in 2008. The goods were donated to the Moorpark food pantry operated by Catholic Charities.

The main post office in Simi Valley collected 13,880 pounds for the Care and Share food bank, and the Mount McCoy post office gathered 21,960 pounds for Mother Teresa's Christian Services, affiliated with St. Rose of Lima Church.

Thousand Oaks brought in 30,100 pounds for FOOD Share in Oxnard, which distributes food throughout the county, and the Newbury Park office collected 12,500 pounds for St. Paul's Baptist Church Charity Food Pantry in Oxnard.

The national food drive event has revealed some interesting trends over the years, Gaunce said.

"People in the poorest neighborhoods give more. It's like they can relate. People that have more give less, because they don't relate as much," she said.

Lisa Leal, a clerk at the Moorpark post office, encouraged people to donate liberally in the upcoming drive because more people need assistance.

"I think this year is the most important because so many people are losing their jobs and might need a food bank," Leal said.

Patricia Calderon, client resource coordinator for the Moorpark Food Pantry, agreed.

She said demand in all local food pantries has increased in recent months because some people who donated food in the past now come to get rations for their families to make ends meet.

"It's kind of sad because they were providers and now we have to provide for them," Calderon said, noting the May 9 drive will help a lot.

"This time of the year it's very slow, so thanks to the post office and the community, we can again fill our shelves," she said. Food collected in Moorpark will go to the pantry on the same day, Calderon said, adding that last year's collection boosted supplies for three months because it provided a foundation to go along with other donations that trickle in throughout the year.

"This community is amazing. Sometimes when I feel I have nothing to give away, someone always comes in with donations," Calderon said.

Nonperishable items for the 17th annual food drive should be brought to the post office May 9 or left by mailboxes that morning, and carriers will do the rest.