Donations Needed For Stuff The Bus Food Drive In San Diego County

SAN DIEGO, CA – A group of community leaders called on San Diego County residents Wednesday to participate in the 11th annual Stuff the Bus holiday food drive in the hope of curbing hunger and food insecurity in the region.

Representatives from the Metropolitan Transit System, the North County Transit District, Albertsons/Vons, Girl Scouts San Diego and the Jacobs and Cushman Food Bank challenged San Diego County residents to break last year's food drive record of 29,000 pounds. The Girl Scouts in attendance made a ceremonial donation to the food drive and announced that a total of 1,249 Girl Scouts will participate in the week-long campaign.

"MTS launched Stuff the Bus 11 years ago not only to collect food for families in need, but to help raise community awareness about the issue of hunger in San Diego," said MTS CEO Paul Jablonski.

"This is a great partnership. The momentum continues to build. It's a great cause and we are confident the community will step up to the challenge."

According to county data from 2016, roughly 486,000 residents -- 163,000 of them children -- deal with food insecurity.

Vons and Albertsons stores in San Diego County have partnered with MTS, the NTCD and the Jacobs and Cushman Food Bank to accept food drive donations through Dec. 1. Residents can purchase a $5 preloaded bag of groceries at Vons stores and approved nonperishable food items at Albertsons stores to donate to the drive.

"As a company, we are fully committed to hunger relief programs, and are proud to host a food drive tackling this important issue," said Shane Dorcheus, the division president for Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions. "Stuff the Bus barrels are prominently located in all Albertsons and Vons locations in San Diego for this worthy cause, and we look forward to seeing them filled throughout the week."

On Dec. 1, MTS and NCTD buses and Girl Scout representatives will be on-site from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. collecting the week's donations at Vons and Albertsons locations around the county. The buses will then bring the food to the Jacobs and Cushman Food Bank, where volunteers will unload the food to be sorted and distributed to hungry San Diego families throughout the holiday season.

"Every can of food donated will prevent a San Diegan from going to bed hungry," said Food Bank President and CEO James Floros. "On behalf of the Food Bank's staff and family of volunteers we thank the community for supporting the Stuff the Bus Food Drive and helping our fellow San Diegans in need."

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock