For the past 36 years, CityLink has hosted the Stuff-A-Bus food drive to help eliminate hunger in Peoria. With a long partnership with Kroger to collect enough food to stuff a classic CityLink bus, the donations collected during the annual food drive benefit the food pantry at the Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service. In a year, the Peoria Friendship House food pantry provides an average of 150,000 meals to those dealing with hunger in Peoria.
Also participating as longtime partners in the Stuff-A-Bus food drive are Cumulus Radio, WYZZ Fox 43, WMBD CBS 31, CIPROUD.com, and the Amalgamated Transit Union #416.
What started out as a small door-to-door campaign by CityLink employees and members of ATU #416 with the intent to stuff a CityLink bus with donations back in 1987 has grown over the years to become a staple food drive in the Peoria area each year. The classic 1975 CityLink bus with its orange paint and vintage look is clearly recognizable and hard to miss when it drives through the streets of Peoria during the food drive.
The 2023 food drive is happening from Friday, October 20 until Wednesday, November 29. After a record-setting successful campaign in 2022, the Stuff-A-Bus committee is setting a lofty goal this year to break another record and collect 13 tons of food to load onto the vintage bus. Donations can be purchased or dropped off at all Kroger store locations in Peoria and East Peoria. Shoppers can simply purchase items from the displays or purchase food off the shelves and place the donations in the bins located at the front of the stores. Additional drop-off locations and events planned to support this year’s food drive are available at www.ridecitylink.org/about/stuff-a-bus.
For the most up-to-date information on the food drive, please visit and like the official Stuff-A-Bus Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stuffabuspeoria. If you would like to get involved in this year’s food drive, please contact Emily Watson at [email protected].
