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Fairfax County’s Stuff the Bus food drive returns Saturday, March 14, with an ambitious goal: collecting 14,000 pounds of food for local pantries.
Donations will be accepted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at eight grocery store parking lots across the county. Residents can contribute nonperishable food or gift cards, with each collection site supporting a different pantry.
The previous Stuff the Bus event, held in September 2025, brought in 12,239 pounds of food and $774 in gift cards, according to Alisa Brooks, food access program manager with the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services.
The county has worked with grocery stores, community organizations and volunteers through the Stuff the Bus initiative since 2011, collecting donations for food-insecure families and local pantries.
The need remains widespread. A 2025 Capital Area Food Bank report found that more than one-third of households across the D.C. region experienced limited or uncertain access to food at least once during the previous year. In Fairfax County, the rate was 26%.
Since 2015, Stuff the Bus sites have collected more than 511,000 pounds of food and nearly $63,000 in monetary donations. Pandemic-era demand contributed to especially large totals, including 148,000 pounds in 2020 and 96,000 pounds in 2021.
Saturday’s collection sites
- Annandale Giant, 7137 Columbia Pike, benefiting ACCA
- Chantilly Walmart, 4368 Chantilly Shopping Center, benefiting Western Fairfax Christian Ministries
- Clifton Giant, 5740 Union Mill Road in Centreville, benefiting Britepaths
- Herndon Giant, 2425 Centreville Road, benefiting Cornerstones
- Huntsman Giant, 7501 Huntsman Boulevard in Springfield, benefiting ECHO
- Lorton Lidl, 9001 White Spruce Way, benefiting Lorton Community Action Center
- McLean Giant, 1454 Chain Bridge Road, benefiting SHARE of McLean
- Reston Giant, 1450 North Point Village Center, benefiting LINK against Hunger