The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is partnering with Whole Foods Markets and other sponsors for its 3rd annual Stuff-A-Bus food drive to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank on Saturday, Dec. 20.

RIPTA staff members will be at the Whole Foods at University Heights on North Main Street in Providence and at the Whole Foods on Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston, from 9 a.m. to noon to collect canned goods and other non-perishable food items. People who donate will receive promotional gifts from RIPTA such as drawstring bags and t-shirts while supplies last.  Other community partners include radio stations Coast 93.3 and B101, as well as the Pawtucket Red Sox and Rhody Sports. 

“We are so grateful to RIPTA, Whole Foods and I Heart Radio for coming together to stuff a bus with healthy food for people in need,” Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the Food Bank said this week. “The Food Bank is currently serving more than 63,000 people each month through its network of food pantries statewide, a near record high. It takes the support of the entire community to ensure that we can keep the shelves stocked during the holiday season and all winter long.” 

RIPTA will have a bus at each location with the goal of filling each one with donations for the Food Bank.

Dan Bannister, Marketing and Outreach manager for RIPTA, said, “We’re looking forward to being in Cranston and Providence Saturday and meeting the people who will help us make this food drive successful.” 

A recent report on hunger from the Community Food Bank shows that the demand has nearly doubled from what it was in 2007. 

“The level of hunger…in Rhode Island today remains nearly as high as it was at the peak of the recession.” 

As a partner in Saturday’s food drive, Whole Foods has agreed to match food donations up to $500 per store. 

Schiff noted that an advantage of having the event at the markets is that, if people forget a donation, they may purchase something while they’re doing their own shopping. 

Whole Foods Market is located at 151 Sockanosset Cross Road, adjacent to the Garden City Shopping Center. The Providence market is at 601 North Main Street in the University Heights Plaza.