School District 2 marks 10th anniversary of the Fill the Bus Food Drive Campaign

What started out as a small idea 10 years ago to help those in need has grown into Southeast New Brunswick's largest food drive.

Students, staff and the communities in District 2 have started their 10th campaign this month.

The goal is to fill several "big yellow" school buses with non-perishable food items for food banks and soup kitchens in the local communities.

The fill-the-bus pick-up day is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 17. Last year, as the buses pulled up to the food depot, it was clear to see that this was the most food collected in nine years. Some buses had to go back once emptied to make room for more food. The final count was well over 21,000 pounds of food for our local food banks.

Organizer Aubrey Kirkpatrick says, "We really have so much to be thankful for in our lives and it has been a wonderful teaching opportunity to help our students understand the importance of giving and to realize there are real hunger issues in our own communities."

On Dec. 17, several yellow school buses will be dispatched to cover all of our participating schools. All donations will be distributed back to the community food banks by the food depot well into the new year when food collection is most difficult. Everyone can contribute to fill the bus by dropping their non-perishable food items at their local District 2 school or at the District 2 office located in Moncton. Food donations collected by the business community or service organizations can also be picked up by contacting 856-3616.

Food Depot Alimentaire is a registered non-profit charity that services more than 20 food banks, community kitchens and agencies in southeastern New Brunswick. The food depot is a strong advocate for the poor and working poor, as well as for the agencies serviced by providing food distribution, fundraising and food collection.

Christmas is a great time for giving; let's celebrate the season by breaking all the records for the 10th anniversary of fill the bus.