San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) will hold its 16th Annual Stuff the Bus food drive Friday, November 14 through Sunday, November 16, 2014. RTD will once again lead a countywide effort, joined by transit agencies in Lodi, Manteca, and Escalon. These agencies, along with RTD, will hold simultaneous food drives using vehicles, staff, and volunteers to collect food for the following nonprofit agencies in their communities, respectively: Greater Stockton Emergency Food Bank, Salvation Army, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Escalon CARE. The food collected will feed thousands of San Joaquin County Residents this holiday season.
RTD began Stuff the Bus in 1999 as a food drive campaign that encourages area residents to “stuff” an RTD bus with food donations to benefit local nonprofit agencies. Agencies also accept turkey and meat donations for families to use for holiday dinners. Over the past 15 years, RTD and its campaign partners have collected 208,242 pounds of food to help those in need during the holiday season.
Stuff the Bus will be held in four locations this year:
*Stockton – Food 4 Less at 789 W. Hammer Lane Dr.
*Lodi – Food 4 Less 2430 W. Kettleman Ln.
*Manteca – Food 4 Less at 131 S. Spreckles Blvd.
*Escalon – Big Boy Market at 2226 Jackson Ave.
Participants can register to win a Food 4 Less gift card at the Stockton, Lodi and Manteca Locations or receive 10% off any food purchased at the event at Big Boy Market in Escalon.
At the Stockton Food 4 Less, donations will be accepted Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the Lodi, Manteca, and Escalon locations, donations will be accepted Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Friday, November 14, KWIN DJs and the KWIN Party Patrol will broadcast live at all events throughout the day, with Meilani and Lucas at Stockton, Jiggy at Lodi, and Amanda in Manteca.
Area food banks serve nutritious food to thousands of people daily and over 100,000 men, women, and children annually in San Joaquin County. RTD and its campaign partners, Lodi Grapeline, Manteca Transit, and Escalon eTrans, KWIN/KWNN (97.7/98.3), The Record, Food 4 Less, and Big Boy Market are proud to serve our community through the annual Stuff the Bus food drive and to assist the food banks in feeding the area’s hungry during the holiday season.
For more information on Stuff the Bus, including a list of suggested food items needed for donation, visit www.sanjoaquinRTD.com/stuffthebus. For event updates, follow San Joaquin RTD on Facebook and Twitter.
