According to Feeding America, 47 million people struggle with food insecurity in America, and as a result, experience challenges with hunger and health. Many families turn to community food banks and resources for help. These issues are prevalent in Waterford, but hundreds of families contribute to the relief efforts, most notably through our annual Stuff the Bus event. 

Since 2014, Waterford Youth and Family Services has hosted this event at each school in the town’s public school system. Dani Gorman, former Director of WYFS and current administrator of WYFS and Waterford Senior Services, aspired to create a way that the youth in Waterford could work together to give back to the community. Over the past 11 years, the event has grown as a tradition teachers, families, and students look forward to each November. 

Joe Trelli, WYFS Program Coordinator, expressed how this is one of his favorite events of the year, showing how “even small acts of kindness from students can make a big difference for neighbors in need.” Specifically, in 2022, WHS contributed over 1400 items.

Since COVID, Trelli says “we have transformed the former Youth Services offices into a large and well-organized food bank,” where a collection of WYFS staff and volunteers help to sort and distribute the items, ensuring that families in the community are receiving what they need. 

Stuff the Bus is not only a significant event at Waterford High School, but also at Clark Lane and the three elementary schools… At each pickup, Trelli is known to dress up as a turkey, interacting with the excitement and enthusiasm of young students. Meanwhile, older students tend to “take pride in understanding how much their efforts directly help local families,” according to Trelli. Ultimately, in any way a student participates, their contributions become meaningful to the Waterford community. 

Each student who is able to contribute an item, whether it is one or a plentiful, is making a powerful impact on other families in Waterford and reminded that helping others and making differences in their lives is something to be proud of. 

This year, WHS is hosting Stuff the Bus on Wednesday, November 5th and Thursday, November 6th. All items can be brought to the student’s advisory classroom, and the bus will come by on Friday to collect the items. Each grade is assigned a certain category of perishables: 9th grade should bring mashed potatoes, rice, and pudding; 10th grade is assigned stuffing, gravy, and pasta sauce; 11th grade has canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, and applesauce; and 12th grade has cereal, pasta, and Jell-O mix. Stuff the Bus is not just a food drive, but many members of the community, like Trelli, see it as “a community tradition that teaches empathy, teamwork, and civic responsibility.”