The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM’s Fill the Bus fundraiser is part of the six-week annual Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal for the foodbank.
Fill the Bus collects so many donations that the bus has to be emptied multiple times during the day-long food drive, its organiser says.
The annual event returns this Thursday for its 11th year, with Rotorua once again set to turn out in force to support the Salvation ArmyFoodbank.
It is part of the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal, which launched on November 15 and runs for six weeks, supported by The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM.
Event organiser and The Hits Rotorua host Paul Hickey said the scale of donations had grown significantly over the years, to the point where the bus would get too heavy to drive.
Image 1 of 32: Fill the Bus 2023. Lynmore School. 08 December 2023 The Daily Post Photo / Andrew Warner
The CityRide bus, donated for the day by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, would need emptying multiple times across the day as food continued to pour in from schools, businesses and the public.
The day-long collection would see the bus travel across Rotorua, starting with public drop-off points at shopping centres and supermarkets in the morning. From there, the focus would shift to visiting schools and businesses throughout the city, before returning to public drop-off locations again in the afternoon.
Hickey said the route was deliberately planned to cover different parts of Rotorua, making it as easy as possible for people to donate.
Schools remained a cornerstone of the event, and Hickey said each school approached Fill the Bus differently depending on its community.
Some had class challenges, mufti days or discos, and others might have a designated box in the office, Hickey said.
For Hickey, the highlight of the day came when children stepped aboard the bus and took in the scale of what the community had achieved together, realising “hey, I’m a part of this”.
Last year’s Fill the Bus collected 10,534 food items, with a total value of $26,335, all donated to the Rotorua Salvation Army Foodbank.
Hickey said some schools that had contributed heavily in past years had scaled back this year as families faced increased financial pressure, which reinforced the need for the wider community to step up.
“That’s why we do it, so that the rest of the community can help out those who aren’t able to contribute this year,” he said.
The annual Fill the Bus event is taking place on Thursday, making stops all around Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
He said Fill the Bus continued to reflect Rotorua’s willingness to step up, and the teams from The Hits Rotorua, the Rotorua Daily Post and the Salvation Army were all looking forward to the day.
Rotorua Salvation Army community ministries wellbeing team leader Sally Wilson said Fill the Bus was a key focus for the week, with staff preparing to be on the road supporting the day-long collection.
She said the event had already attracted a strong volunteer response, and people continued to put their hands up to help.
Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.
