Idle school buses during pandemic find new use after State College steps up to ‘Stuff the Bus’
State College residents donated enough food Wednesday to fill three school buses — turning what was meant to be a one-day event into a weeklong effort to feed those in need.
As many turn to local anti-hunger programs for support amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Centre County, along with communities across the nation, has experienced an increased need for food assistance. Recognizing this need, State College Area School District Director of Transportation Van Swauger saw an opportunity to use his fleet of buses, which has sat idle since March while schools have been closed.
So, Swauger organized “Stuff the Bus” — a nonperishable food drive aimed at helping the State College Food Bank.
“When I was a child, my family depended on the local food bank to get us through a time of need,” he said. “As I began to think of how to help our local food bank during this present time of need, I came up with the Stuff the Bus event to help local families as a way of giving back.”
The coronavirus has created a number of challenges for individuals and families across the world — unemployment, poverty and food insecurity. With hundreds of families and kids participating in daily Centre County feeding programs, Swauger thought Stuff the Bus would help more people in the community by supplying more items to the food bank’s stock of groceries and household products.
Shocked at how much support the drive received, Swauger said what was supposed to be a one-day event became a dayslong effort of collecting, sorting, and this week, donating.
Drop-off locations were stationed outside of SCASD’s elementary and middle schools to ensure the health and safety of participants.
On Wednesday — a day earlier than planned — Swauger and a team of volunteers set out to collect the thousands of donations, but soon after, they realized they were going to need more than just one bus.
“It was certainly more than what I had expected,” he said. “We were starting with one bus, but thanks to the community, we ended up with three full buses.”
With the statewide shutdown and school closures, Swauger and his team haven’t been driving students to and from school, sporting events or field trips. Missing his colleagues, he said Stuff the Bus gave them all an “amazing” opportunity to reunite and give back to the Centre Region.
“It was a huge success thanks to our awesome community,” he said. “I could not have done it without the help of all the volunteers.”
Those volunteers will sort through donations of food and cleaning supplies. Swauger said the district plans to transport all of the items to the food bank this week.
A list of the food bank’s greatest needed items can be found on its website. Monetary donations can be made online, and drop-offs can occur Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. or by appointment.
Outside of the Centre Region, the YMCA of Centre County continues to operate its daily lunch and weekly backpack programs that help feed thousands of kids in Centre and Clearfield counties.
The Moshannon Valley YMCA’s newest additions to its feeding programs include the “Boots on the Ground” delivery program and a frozen meal distribution which helps feed families and individuals without access to transportation. For more information, community members can call 342-0889 or email mcurtis@ymcaocc.org.
This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
