What does it take to change the world? An idea. A small step that turns into action. How can we enact positive change in our everyday lives that has a reverberating effect beyond ourselves?
In 1995, a small but mighty group of compassionate ETS employees asked themselves these questions. Inspired by observation and acting upon the desire to help others in the community, they banded together. They leveraged their work with Edmonton Transit System (now Edmonton Transit Service) by initiating the idea of stuffing a bus with food donations to help Edmontonians struggling to get enough food on the table.
Since then, the annual Stuff a Bus campaign has helped over 1.5 million people eat a warm and nutritious meal, according to Tamisan Bencz-Knight, Manager of Strategic Relationships & Partnerships for Edmonton’s Food Bank.
One idea sparks a movement
Sometimes, a simple idea is all it takes to change the world. For Sharon Gingara, who started as a Communications Officer at ETS in 1992, inspiration came from an unexpected place.
“I had been reading about some students in the United States who had stuffed a Volkswagen Beetle with food for a local food bank and I thought that it would be a good idea,” she says.
“My supervisor, Pat Dickson, and I were looking for something creative to do over the holiday season. So, I suggested this—and then Stuff a Bus was born.”
What started as a spark of creativity took on a life of its own. Other ETS employees like Roger Page, Janis Noble and Deedee Briggs, along with many others, embraced the idea wholeheartedly, turning it into more than just a campaign—they made it a community tradition of hope and compassion for the people who need help.
“We didn’t just want to drive buses—we wanted to drive change,” says Page, who started with ETS as a Transit Operator in 1969 and moved into Community Relations by 1995.
“We were really beginning to hear that there were some hungry souls out there and for most of us at that time, to me, it seemed very foreign. I’ve done a lot of work with the kids in school programs and they talked about these little kids going off to school with empty tummies. Stuff a Bus grew from things like that and we were now recognizing a need to help the community.”
The campaign wasn’t just an ETS effort. The Save-On-Foods on Calgary Trail was asked to partner on the campaign because it was close to Gingara’s house and it was where she shopped for groceries. She approached the store manager. The store was eager to be on board.
With the support of Save-On-Foods, the campaign grew year after year with the expansion of the grocery chain.
“Save-On-Foods has been serving the Edmonton market since we opened our very first store in the city in 1989 and we take great pride in being part of this community,” says Lance Bell, Regional Director of Save-On-Foods.
“Our stores support the Edmonton-area food banks year-round, and we are proud to partner with the City on the Stuff a Bus program every year around Christmas—especially now, when more Canadians are turning to food banks more than ever. Our team members look forward to supporting this program every year and being there for our community.”
This partnership helped the campaign flourish, reaching beyond Edmonton to include Sherwood Park and Spruce Grove. The Stuff a Bus campaign may have inspired other transit agencies across the world to do similar programs, such as those in Belfast, Ireland, now in its eighth year, or the 25th annual event in Bloomington, Indiana, which happens annually around the same time of year.
This simple action, which started 30 years ago, continues today. This year, the campaign collected $20,666 and 24,843 kg of food. Since the campaign’s inception, Edmonton Transit Service, through the help of Save-On-Foods, has collected 625,893 kg of food and $535,871. All donations go to Edmonton’s Food Bank and support people locally, thus, helping us rise up together.
The next generation of supporters
The spirit of Stuff a Bus continues to inspire a new generation of supporters, like 25-year-old transit aficionado Nico Sanders. He runs a YouTube channel under the name Transit Emperor, with 659 videos dedicated mostly to ETS. One of his episodes includes 2024’s Stuff a Bus campaign.
Every year, Sanders and his mother, Susan, make it their mission to support the initiative by visiting as many donation locations as possible, from the south side of Edmonton all the way up to Jasper Avenue.
“We donate as much as we can because I know how many people out there are struggling,” says Susan. “We haven’t had to go to the food bank in several years. But after needing them, we decided to donate back, whenever we can.”
Their commitment is a beautiful reminder that giving back is a full-circle journey of kindness and gratitude.
Based on data from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Income Survey, 8.7 million Canadians, including 2.1 million children, in the 10 provinces lived in food-insecure households in 2023. According to data in 2022, 21.9 per cent of Albertans experienced food insecurity. This is a number that is echoed by Edmonton’s Food Bank with more than 40,000 people accessing the food bank on a monthly basis.
A lifelong commitment to giving back
For Carey Benson, the impact of Stuff a Bus started early. He began volunteering in 2002 at just 12 years old as part of the 152nd Mills Haven Scout Group in Sherwood Park. The group’s leader, Chuck Van Deel Piepers, was an ETS Operator at the time and brought his scouts to volunteer every year.
The experience left a lasting impression on Benson, who still volunteers annually, now helping at the Food Bank to unload the Stuff a Bus donations.
“We made sure that the food got off in a timely fashion and everybody was happy at the end when we completed our goal,” he says. “As soon as you finish one bus, the next one would pull up and it would just be almost up to the ceiling with donations. Seeing each bus, packed so tightly, it was like, ‘Oh no, here we go again.’ But we were happy to do it!”
Benson remembers how the volunteers and ETS staff formed human chains, passing donations hand to hand.”Every year, you could see how grateful people who came in for food were and it’s like you have that moment of impact to see your contribution is helping them,” he says. These moments are what drives Benson to continue volunteering to this day.
A seed planted 30 years ago, now growing even more
In 2024, ETS approached schools about tapping into their annual food drives. While it’s not the first time students have been involved in the Stuff a Bus campaign, it was the first year an ETS bus went to their schools so they could fill it with donations. Six schools got involved this year and raised 3,072 kg for Edmonton’s Food Bank. This is a valuable lesson in teaching students to think beyond themselves and reflect on how they can help people in their community. The kids are learning what it means to be kind and caring.
The impact
Through the past 30 years, the ETS Stuff a Bus campaign has filled hearts and homes with hope and nourishment. This achievement is a testament to the dedication of ETS employees, volunteers, and the Edmonton community.
We couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and every year, we look forward to continuing onwards to make an even greater impact. Together, let’s keep the spirit of Stuff a Bus going because small acts of kindness truly can change the world!
Editor’s note: the pic at the top of the post shows a Stuff a Bus event from 2018.