Donations are being sought to help stock the shelves of the local food pantry, C.A.R.E., Community Action Resources of Escalon.
The City of Escalon through eTrans will conduct a “Stuff TheBus” food drive on Saturday, Nov. 18 and Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. The food donated to eTrans will benefit Escalon C.A.R.E. to help those in need for this holiday season. This annual event began in November 2010 in partnership with Big Boy Market and Escalon C.A.R.E.
This upcoming event will be hosted at MarVal’s Main Street Market, in the Vineyard Square Shopping Center at 1900 McHenry Ave., in Escalon. The food collection will run each day, Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Staff from the local transit agency eTrans will have a bus parked in front of the store and have volunteers from the City of Escalon and Escalon C.A.R.E. on hand to collect the donations. Customers are encouraged to help out Escalon C.A.R.E. by donating perishable and non-perishable food inside the bus.
Customers of MarVal that purchase any item that is donated to this cause will receive a 10 percent discount off their purchases at the store during this weekend event.
Escalon C.A.R.E. provides food items to an estimated 100 households a week through its Weekly Emergency Supplemental Food Program on Wednesdays, except the third Wednesday, of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The third Thursday of the month features the Federal Commodities distribution, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for those households that self-certify they meet the federal guidelines. The government provides specific food items each month.
The C.A.R.E. program, at 1601 Second St., is open for residents of Escalon, Farmington and Collegeville who need food and whose income meets the Federal poverty level. Self-reporting of income is required. A bag of food is provided free, one for each household.
For information on Escalon C.A.R.E., call Director Sherrie Vaden at (209) 417-2048 or visit https://escaloncare.org/
For information on eTrans, call (209) 541-6645 or visit www.cityofescalon.org
