They came with trolley loads, boxes and armfuls of food and by the end of the day the bus wasn't just full, it was chocker.
Today's inaugural 12-hour Fill the Bus can drive for the Rotorua Salvation Army Foodbank has been hailed a huge success.
Rotorua Salvation Army commanding officer Major Bill Millar was overwhelmed by the generosity of the community, saying it passed all of his "wildest dreams".
"We have loaded the bus up load after load, it got so heavy that the driver got concerned and we had to stop and rearrange it so all the heavy stuff was at the front."
Kat Hicks and Paul Hickey from The Hits 97.5FM said the whole day was amazing.
"Everyone was so generous and giving, it was all so positive. Glenholme Primary was great coming out with trolley loads of food which was pretty amazing. Everyone was amazing," Miss Hicks said.
Mr Hickey said they were just really overwhelmed.
"It was a little bit of an unknown thing trying something different but it's really satisfying seeing the local community doing stuff for the local community.
"The kids were awesome. It's teaching them a valuable lesson about how to support others in the community," he said.
Image 1 of 25: Cassie Ward, 8, at Westbrook School.
Among the many who donated, Jacqui Ahu went to Bunnings Warehouse to give to those in need.
"Last year we had a really hard year and this year we're okay so we didn't want anyone else to go through what we went through," she said.
The Rotorua Daily Post's Ben Fraser was on the bus all day.
"The kids were the best, they were amazing. It was a really cool experience, some places even had people waiting for us to turn up. The city is very generous," Mr Fraser said.
Fill the Bus was run by The Hits 97.5FM, as part of the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal. It was supported by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Reesby Buses.
The drive started at the Redwood Shopping Centre at 7.10am and finished at the Salvation Army on Old Taupo Rd at 6.50pm. There were 15 public stops where people dropped off donations of non-perishable food.
The bus also visited six local schools and Waiariki Institute of Technology.
