DART’s Stuff the Bus drive nets 17.9 tons of food

Delaware Transit Corp. announced that DART's 20th annual Stuff the Bus Thanksgiving Food Drive resulted in 17.9 tons (35,832 pounds) of food. The week-long food drive was held Nov. 6-11 at Walmart in Milford, Acme in Dover, Acme in Fairfax Shopping Center, Rodney Square in Wilmington and Acme in Newark; new this year were Acme in Rehoboth and the Middletown Acme. The Food Bank of Delaware will distribute the donated food through its Hunger Relief Partners to Delaware residents in need of food assistance.

John Sisson, DTC CEO, said, "This year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of Stuff the Bus, and it was our goal to make this the biggest event to date. I am extremely proud of our employees, business partners, bus riders and the community, who nearly doubled the amount of donations from last year to help out their fellow Delawareans."

Donations were received from the general public, as well as businesses, schools, organizations and state agencies, filling two 30-foot buses full of nonperishable food. Employees from DART, DMV and DelDOT helped stuff a 40-foot bus; the DelDOT administrative staff in Dover held a friendly competition among departments and collected over 3.6 tons of food. DART's partners, Sharp Energy and ROUSH CleanTech donated $1,000 each to purchase food from Sam's Club, which was loaded onto a DART propane autogas paratransit bus.

"Sharp Energy and ROUSH CleanTech were proud to team up with DART to help feed families in Delaware," said Bob Zola, president of Sharp Energy. "This was our first year supporting DART's Stuff the Bus Campaign, and we plan to continue and to expand our program of giving back to our community."

ROUSH CleanTech, the manufacturer of propane vehicle conversions used on DART paratransit vehicles, joined in the effort with Sharp Energy. "We are excited to partner with DART and Sharp Energy to give back to Delaware," says Todd Mouw, ROUSH vice president of marketing. "We are grateful to work with the Delaware Food Bank to provide Thanksgiving for all."

Again this year, DART partnered with WAFL 97.7 FM and WNCL 101.3 FM, which are part of the Delmarva Broadcasting Co., and organizers send thanks to staff and listeners of both radio stations. Stuff the Bus was a great success in Milford and Dover. Some new partners came out to the Acme in Rehoboth Nov. 6 to support the drive. WRDE, part of the NBC network, encouraged its viewers to come out, and Delaware 105.9 FM, part of Delmarva Broadcasting Co., brought out its listeners with donations in hand.

The Stuff the Bus 20th anniversary was an incredible year, thanks to everyone's generosity and support.