Community residents get into the giving spirit as they ‘Stuff the Bus’

The spirit of Thanksgiving was alive and well in Stockton on Saturday as the community prepared for the 26th annual Stuff the Bus food drive. 

Organized by the San Joaquin County Transit District (RTD), the three-day event is held every year the weekend before Thanksgiving, where the community is encouraged to donate non-perishable food items and turkeys, all of which are delivered to the Stockton/San Joaquin Emergency Food Bank to help local families in need during the holiday season.

Maximilian Cao, supervisor of marketing and customer engagement for RTD, has worked for the regional regional transit provider for about 10 years. He says that it’s amazing to see so many people donate.

“I am meeting people who are down to their last dollar and yet still come by to help with just a few items,” Cao told Stocktonia Saturday at the Stuff the Bus event, which is held at the Stockton Food 4 Less on West Hammer Lane from Friday to Sunday just before Thanksgiving.

The event has collected 215 tons of food since its inception in 1998, Cao said, which is roughly about 435,000 pounds. 

Cao said the event is made possible by partnerships with community-based organizations, such as Community Medical Centers, the Emergency Food Bank and Food 4 Less, and local residents. One such resident has garnered the moniker the Turkey Lady.

Stockton resident and longtime educator Anne Swehla Garcia has been diligently collecting turkeys through her Friends and Strangers initiative for the last eight years. It all started when a food bank board member and personal mentor mentioned to Swehla Garcia that they needed more turkeys. So she asked some fellow teachers at her school to donate money to buy some. 

That year Swehla Garcia took 14 turkeys down to the food bank. The following year she collected enough funds for 25 cases. And so a new tradition began. 

Since 2017, she has collected and donated more than $55,000 dollars. The food bank told Stocktonia in 2022 that Swehla Garcia supplies about a quarter of the turkeys it receives.

Her annual effort, which she began in October, relies on the generosity of community members through Facebook and in-person contributions. Over the course of 30 days, Garcia collected funds to ensure families who might not otherwise afford a turkey can still enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

“This is a community coming together,” Garcia said. “This is a way for people to help others who are in need.”

This year Swehla Garcia says she collected 174 donations totaling just under $8,500, with donations originating locally and beyond, including as far away as Ireland.

Swehla Garcia told Stocktonia she was able to purchase 488 turkeys this past weekend, totaling 5,860 pounds of holiday poultry for families in need.

“You would be surprised how many people are in need,” Garcia said. “Sometimes people say they don’t look like they need it, but you just have to give and assume because you’re gonna give it away and it’s going to get to where it is needed.”

San Joaquin Regional Transit Department’s annual Stuff the Bus drive has provided a convenient way to donate and transport as the pounds of turkeys has exponentially grown.  Swehla Garcia also works with the Food 4 Less on Hammer Lane, the only local retailer willing to take on her large orders and store the turkeys until they can be delivered to the food bank. 

The local grocery store has been a steadfast supporter of her mission, she says.

Swehla Garcia said when she first started out many grocery stores would even talk to her when she reached out for support. But then she eventually got in touch with the manager of Food 4 Less, Gerald Garfield, who agreed to help her. 

“The first year might have been about $1,000 and the next year was more,” Swehla Garcia said. “And then I think he realized this is going to be a thing.”

All the food donated at the Stuff the Bus event will be distributed Tuesday at the Emergency Food Bank’s drive-thru Turkey Box Giveaway at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. Boxes, which include a turkey and other holiday fixings, are given out to county residents on a first-come, first-serve basis starting at 8 a.m.