Fort St. John Huskies reveal final haul for Fill the Bus food drive 2025

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — True to its name, the Fort St. John Huskies made good on its promise to fill their travel bus with a large haul of donated food items.

The club announced in a Facebook post that 5,172 pounds of food was donated by residents and businesses during its 28th annual Fill the Bus campaign on Sunday, December 7th.

The initiative also raised $3,297.55 in cash contributions, including a $2,000 donation from the Fort St. John Professional Firefighters Association.

All proceeds from the event benefit the Fort St. John Salvation Army.

While he wasn’t the one organizing the event, head coach Todd Alexander had a lot of praise for the volunteers and time spent by the club’s front office in staging the drive.

“The players and the board members deserve a big hand,” said Alexander. “They are the ones that drive it, they are the ones that work it.

“It has been a staple in the community for a long time. Not everybody has the extra buck to give around, but for some reason at Christmas, people are more than happy to help out.”

In contrast to the door-to-door model of previous years, the club sought to put food drop-off zones in several local retailers, including Canadian Tire, Amanda’s No Frills, Save-on-Foods and The Butcher Block.

School District 60 schools, including Alwin Holland Elementary, North Peace Secondary School and Wonowon School, all had solidarity food drives during last week, with their contributions ultimately helping the club reach its goal.

The Facebook post acknowledged “big shoutouts to the multiple groups” who made the drive a success. 

The Huskies Fill the Bus campaign took place on Sunday, December 7th. More details are on Huskies’ Facebook page.