Delaware Transit Corporation announced that DART’s 20th annual “Stuff the Bus” Thanksgiving Food Drive collected 17.9 tons (35,832 pounds) of food. The week-long food drive took place from November 6 to November 11 at Walmart in Milford, Acme in Dover, Acme in Fairfax Shopping Center, Rodney Square in Wilmington and Acme in Newark; and new this year was the Acme in Rehoboth and the Middletown Acme. The Food Bank of Delaware will distribute the donated food through its Hunger Relief Partners to Delaware residents in need of food assistance.
John Sisson, DTC’s chief executive officer, stated “This year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of “Stuff the Bus” and it was our goal to make this the biggest event to date. I am extremely proud of our employees, business partners, bus riders, and the community, who nearly doubled the amount of donations from last year to help out their fellow Delawareans.”
Donations were received from the general public, as well as businesses, schools, organizations, and state agencies throughout the entire State, which filled two 30-foot buses full of non-perishable food. Employees from DART, DMV and DelDOT helped stuff a 40-foot bus; the DelDOT Administrative staff in Dover held a friendly competition among departments and collected over 3.6 tons of food. DART’s partners, Sharp Energy and ROUSH CleanTech donated $1,000 each to purchase food from Sam’s Club, which was loaded onto a DART propane autogas paratransit bus.
“Sharp Energy and Roush CleanTech were proud to team up with DART to help feed families in Delaware”, said Bob Zola, president of Sharp Energy. “This was our first year supporting DART’s Stuff the Bus Campaign and we plan to continue and to expand our program of giving back to our community.”
ROUSH CleanTech, the manufacturer of propane vehicle conversions used on DART paratransit vehicles, joined in the effort with Sharp Energy. “We are excited to partner with DART and Sharp Energy to give back to Delaware”, said Todd Mouw, vice president of marketing for Roush CleanTech. “We are grateful to work with the Delaware Food Bank to provide Thanksgiving for all.”
Again this year, DART partnered with WAFL 97.7 FM and WNCL 101.3 FM, which are part of the Delmarva Broadcasting Company. Thanks to staff and listeners of both radio stations, “Stuff the Bus” in Milford and Dover was a great success. Also, DART wanted to thank the staff and listeners from WJBR 99.5 FM, part of the Beasley Broadcasting Group, who helped to fill the bus in Rodney Square and Middletown. Some of DART's new partners came out to the Acme in Rehoboth on Monday, November 6 to support “Stuff The Bus”. WRDE, part of the NBC network, encouraged their viewers and Facebook followers to come out through a Facebook Live video. Delaware 105.9 FM, part of the Delmarva Broadcasting Company, brought out their listeners with donations in hand, and The Voice Radio Network’s collection barrel was overflowing with donations from their listeners. In addition, the DMV On the Go Bus was part of the Dover event at the Acme, providing individuals the opportunity to take care of their DMV needs. DART's other new partner was WSTW 93.7 FM, part of the Delmarva Broadcasting Company, who brought out their listeners to the Fairfax Acme on Wednesday, November 8.
DART's 20th Anniversary was an incredible year, thanks to everyone for their generosity and support in helping us “stuff” its buses.
