As we gear up for the 28th annual Stuff-A-Bus food drive with Kroger, we are putting the call out for help! Not only do we need help restocking the shelves at the Peoria Friendship House of Christian Fellowship, but we also need food collection partners and volunteers.

Last year you helped us raise 11 tons of food! That only lasted until May of this year.

According to CEO of the Peoria Friendship House Melanie McNiff, “Since January of this year, we have served more than 68,000 meals to Peoria families who are dealing with hunger.”

Obviously, there is a need in central Illinois for food. Here are some statistics to back that up:

• Almost 80% of children in Peoria District 150 are on reduced or free lunch. Some in the urban center only get
good nutrition during the week while at school. Many children go hungry on the weekend.
• Food deserts are becoming more prominent throughout the city. (A food desert is an urban area in which it is
difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.)
• 100% of the people served at the Peoria Friendship House live below $13,000 per year.
• The unemployment rate in the urban center ranges between 9% to as high as 17% in some neighborhoods.

Because of this, we are asking everyone from central Illinois to get involved. Churches, businesses, schools, social clubs: we are asking YOU to help us put an end to hunger during the month of November.

According to Anna Buehrer, director of marketing and public relations for CityLink, a founding partner of the Stuff-A-Bus campaign, there are many ways to help this year.

“Hosting a food drive is a great way to help,” stated Buehrer. “Companies can make it fun by providing incentives to their employees or sparking some friendly competition between departments.”

Buehrer added that churches could pick a particular Sunday during November to collect food donations. In addition, the campaign is seeking volunteers who can distribute shopping lists with suggested items at area Kroger stores. A full list of ideas to help with this year’s campaign is available here. Interested groups can send an email to [email protected].

All donations will be collected at a special event on Friday, November 20 at the Kroger store on Lake Avenue. Businesses and organizations that have collected food for the drive are invited to bring their donations to the Kroger store between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Local media partners, Peoria’s 92.3, 105.7 the X, and 97.3 NASH-FM, and WMBD-TV will be broadcasting live throughout the day.

The final tally of food collected during the campaign will be announced at a press conference on Tuesday, December 1.

Help us put an end to hunger! And like Stuff-A-Bus on Facebook.