COEUR d’ALENE — Stock up, dig in and help out.

Starting Tuesday, your Press newspaper carrier will happily bridge the gap between you and hungry neighbors.

Inspired by a suggestion from longtime carrier Gwen McDonald — as hard a worker as you’ll find anywhere — Press Circulation Manager Dan Phillips and his fleet of delivery people will pick up any nonperishable food items you put out for them Oct. 15 through Oct. 30. They’ll deliver all that nourishment to Community Action Partnership’s food bank in Coeur d’Alene, where it will be distributed to needy Kootenai County residents.

“We believe in helping those less fortunate, and when we can do that and have some fun along the way, so much the better,” said Phillips.

Phillips said newspaper carriers will wage a friendly — and potentially profitable — competition to see who can collect the most food. The competition is based on weight of the goods collected.

The carrier who brings in the most food will receive $300 cash from The Press. Second place will get $200, and $100 will go to the third-place finisher.

“Their pockets aren’t the only things that will benefit,” Phillips added. “Gwen’s got something for their stomachs, too.”

He said McDonald, a renowned baker, will indulge the top three finishers with her famous cookies, candy and fudge. But the real winners will be hundreds, perhaps thousands of area residents who don’t have enough to eat.

To participate, simply put your nonperishables wherever the carrier delivers your paper. That includes newspaper tubes. You can put food out as often as you like between tomorrow and Oct. 30.

If the carrier misses your donation, call The Press circulation department — 664-0220 — and they’ll send someone over to pick up your goods.

Phillips said the aim of the program is to address a year-round need at a time when not everybody is focused on it.

“Hunger doesn’t just happen over the holidays,” he said. “There are lots of people we can help right now.”