The East Kootenay branch of NextGen Transit is hosting a ‘Stuff the Bus’ fundraiser this December, with the goal of garnering 4,500 pounds of food for the Cranbrook Food Bank.
NextGen Transit is the contractor for of public transit busses in Cranbrook and surrounding communities.
Bill Roberts, Supervisor with East Kootenay NextGen Transit, explained that the transit company hopes to rally the community to donate non-perishable good items and monetary donations in the first-ever fundraiser of its kind in the region.
“We’ll be parking one of our large transit buses in the Safeway parking lot on December 3 and 4 to fill with donations for the food bank,” Roberts explained. “The same type of fundraiser has been held before in Trail, and we wanted to get more involved with the community and bring this fundraiser here - with a little friendly competition.”
He adds that Trail was able to gather 4,000 pounds of food last year, so the local division is looking to amp up the game with a goal of 4,500 pounds.
Roberts says that the food bank asks the community to focus on a few key items such as school snacks (fruit cups, cheese and cracker packs, trail mix, juice boxes, etc.) as well as pantry staples like flour, oatmeal, rice, sugar and instant coffee, among other things.
“We encourage the community to come out and say hello, listen to some holiday tunes and make a donation, whether it’s monetary or non-perishable foods,” Roberts said. “It all benefits the local food bank.”
The event will take place on Friday, December 3 and Saturday, December 4 from 10a.m. to 6p.m.
“We’re excited to host the Stuff the Bus event for the first time in Cranbrook,” Roberts adds. “A huge thank you and shoutout to our sponsors - Safeway, City of Cranbrook, Freight Liner, Salvadore Ready-Mix, 2DayFM and Bridge Interiors.”
corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
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