San Joaquin Regional Transit District has announced it will hold its 19th annual Stuff the Bus food and coat drive Friday, November 17, through Sunday, November 19. Escalon eTrans will join RTD as they hold simultaneous food drives that will benefit the Stockton Emergency Food Bank and Escalon Care, which 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 will also accept turkey and meat donations for needy families to use for holiday dinners. Over the past 19 years, RTD and its campaign partners have collected over 315,000 pounds of food.
This year RTD has two new partners: Community Medical Centers and the San Joaquin Bicycle Coalition. On November 16, RTD will pick up donated food and coats from multiple Community Medical Center locations. On the same day, the San Joaquin Bicycle Coalition will lead a Cruisin’ for Cans bike ride where attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items. The donations from both of these events will go towards RTD’s Stuff the Bus donation drive.
Stuff the Bus will be held at two locations this year: The Food 4 Less store on Hammer Lane in Stockton and Big Boy Market in Escalon. The Stockton Food 4 Less will accept donations Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Escalon will accept donations Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
On Friday, November 17, KWIN radio will broadcast live at the Stockton location. There will also be special guest appearances from Artie D., Freddy the Frog, and Fierce the Delta College Mustang. Balloon twisters will also be on site at the Stockton location Friday and Saturday, between 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Participants can register to win raffle prizes, including a $100.00 Food 4 Less gift card, at the Food 4 Less location in Stockton.
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, Escalon eTrans, KWIN/KWNN (97.7/98.3), The Record, Food 4 Less, Big Boy Market, Community Medical Centers, and the San Joaquin Bicycle Coalition are proud to serve our community through the annual Stuff the Bus food drive and to assist the food banks in feeding the hungry during the holiday season.
