Stuff the Bus with Food on August 7

Among the activities happening at is another installment of Stuff The Bus With Food.  Stuff the Bus is a food drive where Livingston residents attempt to fill a school bus with food for the needy.

The bus will be making its way through town on August 7.  After a few key stops, the bus will park at the Oval for Livingston’s National Night Out Festivities and attendees are encouraged to bring a healthy food donation for the bus. 

All collected food will be donated to Livingston’s C.H.O.W. (Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse). C.H.O.W, spearheaded by Sister Barbara Howard of and a project of the Livingston Clergy Association, will distribute collected items to Livingston residents in need.  Housed at St. Philomena’s, C.H.O.W. is open to families in need on a drop-in basis.  Excess food collected is donated to soup kitchens and food pantries in the surrounding areas. For additional information on C.H.O.W, contact Sister Barbara at (973) 992-1382.

The non-perishable items requested for collection are: canned tuna, peanut butter, napkins, toilet tissue, paper towels, breakfast cereal, condiments, canned beans, dried beans, pasta, white or brown rice, pasta sauces, macaroni & cheese, powdered milk, canned fruit, canned vegetables, baby food and jelly & jam. Only new, unopened items will be collected.  Please make sure items are not expired and healthy items are appreciated.

The bus, generously provided by the , will drive through town and make many pre-event stops,  including Shoprite and Kings (where people can meet the bus and get their donations on the bus).

2 p.m. 

Stonybrook Day Camp at - A Stonybrook Day Camp bus, packed with food donations (campers have been challenged to a stuff the camp bus) will meet the Stuff the Bus and transfer their food donations to kick off the day's festivities.

2:40 p.m.

- The Stuff the Bus will accept donations from the township’s Livingston Kids’ Camp, which has promoted this event and has been collecting canned goods throughout the summer. 

3:15-3:45 p.m.

The bus will then head over to Livingston’s , where it will be parked.  Members of the community are welcomed and encouraged to come bring donations to the bus, while it is parked at Shoprite.

3:50 p.m.

Next, the bus will head over the .  The West Essex YMCA's summer camps, which are committed to social responsibility, are running a collection from Wednesday, Aug 1 - Monday, Aug 6th at Camp Peanut Shell, Super Summer Day Camp, Pioneer Trails Day Camp and Teen Adventure Camp.  

4:15-4:50 p.m.

The bus will then pull into Livingston’s .  Members of the community are welcomed and encouraged to come bring donations to the bus.  In addition, Kings will have pre-bagged items available for sale in the store.  The bags are available now at all registers for your convenience.  Kings will hold your donation and load it onto the bus for you.

5-7:50 p.m.

After Kings, the Stuff the Bus will head over to the Oval, where it will stay for the evening for National Night Out.  Attendees are encouraged to bring an item or bag of items to stuff onto the bus.

This event is part of the town's second annual community service project.  Coordinated by Livingston Deputy Mayor Rudy Fernandez, the focus of this year's efforts will be C.H.O.W. and multiple collections are planned throughout the year.   

Town organizations are assisting with this Stuff the Bus and they will also kick off the townwide project by placing drop boxes for donations for C.H.O.W. around town and even in surrounding areas. The organizations who have agreed to participate in the town wide effort include: The Livingston Kiwanis Club;  The West Essex YMCA;  Livingston UNICO;  Rotary Club of Livingston;  Livingston Knights of Columbus, Council 3533; Livingston Masonic Lodge #11; the Livingston American Little League;  Healthy Community, Healthy Youth;  and the West Essex Tribune.   In addition, the town gives a  special thanks to Kings and Shoprite for their support of these efforts.