SINCLAIRVILLE — The Cassadaga Valley Central School District is coming together with a common goal in mind: to support local food pantries.

Beginning on Monday, Cassadaga Valley will be collecting non-perishable food items and gift card donations to benefit food pantries in Cassadaga and Sinclairville. The “Fill the Bus Campaign” runs through Thursday, Feb. 13.

The Cassadaga Valley Transportation Department, the SRP union and the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter (FFA) came up with the idea to fill a bus with items to deliver to the local panties after the holiday season, which typically greatly impacts food pantries across the region and beyond. Once the items are collected, a bus from the school will deliver the donations to the local food pantries.

“This is a hard time of the year for them,” said Kelly McLane, an employee of the District’s Transportation Department. “It was our thought that after the holidays, we would replenish them.”

McLane said the “Fill the Bus Campaign” is the first of its kind at the school. It is also the first charitable campaign that the Transportation Department has spearheaded in McLane’s time with the District, which began approximately five years ago. McLane called the event’s formation “a collaborative effort” between the Transportation Department, the SRP and the FFA.

Donations are accepted at the Cassadaga Valley Central School bus garage each day throughout the event. The District will also be collecting donations at the JV/Varsity girls basketball games on Thursday and the JV/Varsity boys basketball games on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Each of the junior varsity contests begin at 6 p.m. at Cassadaga Valley High School, with the varsity games to follow.

If the campaign is successful, the District is open to similar events in the future. “Hopefully it will become an annual thing and we’ll do it all the time,” McLane said.

Contact McLane for more information at (716) 490-5460.