Athens Transit is joining forces with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia to help combat hunger this holiday season and beyond. The department is holding a “Stuff-a Bus” event this week.
A county bus, decked out in full holiday mode, will be parked at different locations around town accepting donations of non-perishable food items.
Rachel Hopkins is Marketing Coordinator with Athens Transit.
“It’s a giving time of year,” according to Hopkins. “We want to make it easy for people, I think people really want to donate and so by putting it around town it makes it easy for them. As a transit agency we are really in the service industry and this is something we like to do to give back the community we serve.”
This is the eighth year Athens Transit has held the annual food drive. Organizers have collected as much 34,000 pounds of food, though the event usually averages around 17,000 pounds.
Jenna Vasevil is with the Food Bank. She says this time of year is particularly challenging for the organization.
“We’re actually in a huge food shortage right now, specifically a canned food shortage right now. This event is pretty huge for us, our shelves are fairly bare and we need more food than ever going into the holiday season.”
Items like canned goods, staples like flour, sugar, oil, as well as hams and turkeys are all needed. You can also donate cash. The Food Bank serves 14 counties in northeast Georgia.
Most-needed items:
Peanut Butter, Soups, Chili, and Beef Stew, Canned Fruits and Vegetables, Canned Pasta, Canned Chicken and Tuna, Cereal, Rice, Pasta & Sauce, and Dried or Canned Beans.
Locations:
Monday, December 10th: Kroger Shopping Plaza, Hwy. 29 North
Tuesday, December 11th: Athens-Clarke County Library, Baxter St.
Wednesday, December 12th: Athens-Clarke County Library, Baxter St.
Thursday, December 13th: Classic Center, N. Thomas St.
Friday, December 14th: Walmart Supercenter, Lexington Rd.
For more information on the locations of the bus, as well as a list of the most-needed items, visit www.accgov.com.