Mark your calendars for May 11, when Massapequa and Massapequa Park letter carriers will make helping the needy as easy as checking your mailbox.

Residents throughout Massapequa and Massapequa Park are being asked to help feed those who are less fortunate by participating in a nation-wide food drive sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, Island Harvest, Long Island Cares Regional Food Bank, the United Way, and the Long Island Federation of Labor.

Massapequa and Massapequa Park letter carriers will collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes along their routes as they deliver the mail May 11 to help stock local food banks for the needy.

"Since the events of Sept. 11, this year's drive is taking on a new dimension," explained Rae Culotta, the postmaster in Massapequa Park. "After the tragedy that has been endured by our neighbors, Long Island families are in need of help now more than ever."

Considering the current economic conditions, the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Postal Service are committed to collecting more food this year than in the past.

This is the ninth year letter carriers in Massapequa and Massapequa Park have participated, and the tenth year the food drive has been held nationally. The national food drive has grown from 12 million pounds collected in 1992 to 70.1 million pounds collected in May of last year--setting a record one-day drive effort. Last year, Long Island letter carriers collected over one million pounds of food.

This one-day food drive is part of a nationwide drive designed to fill food banks and pantries through the summer months, when levels are traditionally low. Letter carriers from all 50 states and hundreds of cities will take part.

Residents are asked to leave at least one non-perishable food item--no glass please--next to their mailboxes May 11 to help make this drive a success and help feed the needy in this area. Residents can also drop off food a few days before the drive at their local post office.

For more information call the Massapequa Park post office at 798-5228.