A vintage London double-decker bus will be parked in the Davis Food Co-op parking lot this Saturday (Dec. 11), waiting to be stuffed — stuffed with your donations of food and a few other of life’s necessities. All donations will be turned over to the ASUCD Pantry, which aims to ensure students in need don’t miss a meal or go without other basic necessities while trying to stay in school.

Unitrans and the Davis Food Co-op are sponsoring the fifth annual “Stuff the Bus” event, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Look for the red double-decker in the parking lot at 620 G St. Children and adults alike are welcome to enjoy the view from the top deck of the bus as they drop off their donations. The first 50 donors will receive Unitrans passes good for 10 free rides.

For donors’ convenience, the Davis Food Co-op will offer prepacked bags of groceries and other items — bags you can buy at the checkout stands, and staff will deliver the bags to the bus.

The Pantry provided this list of suggested donations: toiletries and hygiene products, canned soups, canned ready-to-eat meals, healthy snacks, gluten-free foods, peanut butter and jams, fruit juice, baby formula and any nonperishable food.

Mail Services’ 16th annual Holiday Food Drive, held in November, collected 1,936 pounds of nonperishable food and other supplies: 1,066 pounds on the Davis campus (given to the ASUCD Pantry, which serves students in need) and 870 pounds on the Sacramento campus (given to the ASUCD Pantry and The Pantry at UC Davis Health, which is run by the Christian Faith at Work employee organization and provides assistance to anyone in the UC Davis Health community. The Mail Services team is grateful for the continuous support of the UC Davis and UC Davis Health communities. — Jim Hewlett, communications and training analyst, Supply Chain Management

Other collections

• Toys for Tots — Mail Services on the Davis campus is picking up donations with outgoing mail, or you can leave your donations in one of the blue collection bins around campus. The drive ends this Friday (Dec. 10). The toy drive, held in conjunction with the Marine Corps Reserve, benefits Yolo County children (up to age 14). The organizers said all toys should be new and unwrapped. For more information, send an email to Mail Services.
• Children’s Hospital Virtual Holiday Toy Drive — The hospital aims to ensure every patient receives a gift this holiday season. Additional items are used throughout the year to stock hospital playrooms, and for patients’ birthdays and other celebrations and milestones. The drive runs through Dec. 24. Donations are welcome online or by check, or you can purchase any of the gifts that are listed on the hospital’s wish list on Amazon. Look for all the details and links on the Virtual Holiday Toy Drive webpage.
• Holiday Pet Baskets and Winter Coats and Sweaters — Volunteer elves who share an affiliation past or present with the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital are preparing once again for their annual distribution of holiday gift bags for dogs and cats who receive care at the Mercer Clinic for the Pets of the Homeless in Sacramento. The elves are also seeking monetary donations to keep the now 27-year-old project going. Donate online (https://give.ucdavis.edu/Go/MercerVet) or write a check made payable to “UC Regents-Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets” and mail it to the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Office of the Dean, P.O. Box 1167, Davis 95617-1167 (Attention: Mercer Clinic Holiday Pet Baskets). For more information, contact Eileen Samitz by phone, 530-756-5165, or email: emsamitz@ucdavis.edu.