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The numbers are sobering — and skyrocketing.

The Community Action Partnership of Kern Food Bank served 2,854 households in March 2007, the time of the local freeze. The same month the following year, it was 2,389 households. And now, in March of this year, 3,526 familes received its food.

“There are many, many people out there in need,” partnership spokeswoman Abby Tomlinson said.

And so, to help fill the need, the National Association of Letter Carriers will conduct its annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive on Saturday, May 9. They’ll collect non-perishable donations when they deliver mail. Postcards, sponsored by the Campbell Soup Co. and the U.S. Postal Service’s Priority Mail, will be sent to customers to remind them of the drive and explain how to help, according to a letter carriers news release.

Why does it matter? A whopping 53 percent of the county’s residents suffer from food insecurity, which means they can’t meet their nutritional needs with their income, Tomlinson said.

And for those who want to donate beyond the letter carrier’s drive, the food bank can turn a $1 donation into nine pounds of food. The Food Bank is at 1825 Feliz Drive and can be reached at 398-4520.

— Christine Peterson