Christmas Appeal: Drive aims to Fill the Bus with food

Westbrook School students (from left) Stuart Thurlow, 7, Alicia Heron, 10, Allyssa Chapman, 9, and Joel Steiner, 9, prepare for Fill the Bus. Photo / Stephen Parker

From Lynmore to Ngongotaha, Central Mall to Westend, Rotorua residents won't have to travel far to show their support for the first Fill the Bus food drive.

The 12-hour food drive will take place tomorrow in a bid to stock up the Salvation Army's shelves with a bus load of food.

Fill the Bus is being run by The Hits 97.5FM, as part of the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal in support of the Salvation Army Foodbank.

Instead of the annual can drive, Paul Hickey from The Hits said this year would see a dedicated 12-hour campaign with the bus making stops throughout the city to collect food items for the appeal.

The public schedule starts at the Redwood Shopping Centre at 7.10am and finishes at the Salvation Army on Old Taupo Rd at 6.50pm. There will be 15 public stops where people can drop off donations of non-perishable food. The bus will also visit six local schools and Waiariki Institute of Technology.

Westbrook School associate principal Rachel Weinburg said, over the past couple of weeks, the school had asked pupils to bring in cans of food. She said they had a box that was overflowing with about 60 to 70 cans. Having a bus travel around collecting the food had made it much easier, she said.

Where to find the bus tomorrow:

7.10am-7.40am - Redwood Shopping Centre, Tarawera Roundabout
7.50am-8.10am - Countdown Fenton St
8.20am-8.40am - Western Heights Shops, Brookland Rd
8.50am-9.10am - Ngongotaha Village, Main Rd
10.10am-10.30am - Bunnings Warehouse, Old Taupo Rd
12.10pm-12.40pm - Rotorua Central Mall, Foodcourt entrance
1pm-1.10pm - Owhata Shops, Te Ngae Rd
1.10pm-1.20pm - Te Ngae Shopping Centre, Te Ngae Rd
1.30pm-1.50pm - St Andrews Shops, Otonga Rd
3pm-3.30pm - Pak'nSave, Amohau St
3.40pm-4pm - Lakefront Reserve
4.10pm-4.30pm - Puarenga Park, by BMX track
5pm-5.30pm - Countdown, Fairy Springs Rd
5.40pm-6pm - Westend Shops, Malfroy Rd
6.10pm-6.50pm - Salvation Army, Old Taupo Rd