LOWER LAKE — Organizers are gearing up for the annual “Stuff-A-Bus” event, which takes place Oct. 27 for national Make A Difference Day.
On that day, volunteers will fill a bus with donated food that will benefit approximately 16 food pantries and senior centers in the county.
“All the food stays in Lake County,” Lorrie Gray, of the Lake County Hunger Task Force, said Monday.
The Stuff-A-Bus event is a collaborative effort of the Hunger Task Force, Lake Transit Authority, Lake County Office of Education AmeriCorps Program and North Coast Opportunities, Inc. Community Action.
Representatives of those agencies met Monday afternoon in Lower Lake as part of the Make A Difference Day Planning Committee.
Volunteers will set up at supermarkets throughout the county from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 27 to collect non-perishable food items, preferably within the expiration date.
The donations will then be taken to the Lakeport Grocery Outlet, where volunteers will load the food into an empty Lake Transit bus.
This year marks the third Stuff-A-Bus event. Community service groups in Lake County collected food donations for Make A Difference Day since 2000, Gray said.
Volunteers stuffed 6,310 pounds worth of food into a bus last year. More than 41,600 pounds of food was collected and donated to people in the county since 2000.
During the month leading up to the event, organizers will put barrels in as many as 42 locations across Lake County, allowing people to drop off food at grocery stores, libraries, county offices and other places.
The barrels should be in place by the end of September, and volunteers will unload the barrels as they fill.
People interested in volunteering for the event or wanting information about placing a barrel in their business or office can call 277-9227 or 994-4647, ext. 123.
