How would you feel about your friendly local postal worker delivering milk and bread along with your junk mail?

You may soon find out—sort of. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has submitted a plan to expand its operations to grocery delivery. Under the plan, USPS would work with retailers to deliver groceries and other packaged goods to homes during the wee hours of the morning. To ensure freshness, participating grocers would have to drop off the deliveries during the narrow window of time of 1:30 to 2:30 am.

The Postal Service expects to tote in more than $10 million with this two year test, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the multibillion losses it faces annually. However, officials think it can bring more financial stability to the aging and floundering service which has not adapted well to the digital age. People send letters, cards, bill notices, and payments electronically these days, so most mail delivered is junk mail punctuated with occasional magazines.

The Postal Service is undeterred and thinks previous testing provide early signals that this may be the heaven-sent solution to their seemingly intractable problems.

The Washington Post reports:

The Postal Service sent its proposal to the Postal Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, seeking approval from the panel. The agency wants to begin testing on Oct. 24, with the process lasting up to two years, although it could choose to make the program permanent at a sooner date.

Under the plan, USPS would work with retail partners to deliver “groceries and other prepackaged goods” to homes between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. at locations designated by consumers. Participating grocery stores would have to drop off their orders at post offices between 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m.

“Ultimately, the Postal Service expects this will generate more package deliveries that do not currently move within the postal system,” the agency said in its proposal. “Grocery deliveries are expanding across the nation, with several different types of companies beginning to offer this service in recent months.”

USPS has not specified what its delivery prices would be, or which cities and retailers would be involved in the program.

The Postal Service has already tested the program, toting groceries for Amazon.com in the San Francisco area. According to the proposal, USPS averaged 160 deliveries per day in 38 Zip codes.

This is not the only innovative partnership the Postal Service is exploring. Apparently, USPS has been partnering with other retailers such as Amazon to diversify their funding streams.

We commend the Postal Service for doing what private companies do when faced with structural economic changes: innovate. It’s too bad it’s taken them so long and it’s questionable whether it will be enough. It may be that the postman will go the way of the Pony Express.

As Vox explains, USPS has a staggering amount of work in delivering 158 billion pieces of mail each year, but it’s up against a Goliath of its own making: $100 billion in debt and unfunded liabilities related to retirees’ pensions and health benefits. Congress mandated that this independent entity prefund pensions and health benefits for its retirees, so it’s been in a financial hole. For some time.

Package delivery has been a bright spot for the Post Service, but will it be enough to not just keep the agency afloat but clear up its debt? Unlikely. At least they’re willing to try to innovate. Let the milk delivery commence.