Stuff the Bus campaign will be at Annandale Giant Feb. 13

ACCA volunteers at the Annandale Giant in February 2015.

Stuff the Bus, the countywide campaign to collect food donations for needy families, will be at the Annandale Giant, Saturday, Feb. 13, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Shoppers are encouraged to purchase a few extra items to be donated to the food pantry operated by Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA). Joe Carter, the manager of the Annandale Giant, has agreed to prepare pre-packaged $5 and $10 bags of food for customers to purchase based on ACCA’s needs.

Stuff the Bus is an annual campaign aimed at restocking food pantries during the period after the holidays when donations tend to drop off. It’s a joint effort sponsored by the Fairfax County government, Giant Food, Shoppers Food and Pharmacy, Walmart, and MV Transportation Inc.

Each Saturday, between Jan. 16 and Feb. 27, a Fastran bus staffed by MV Transportation personnel parks at two or three grocery stores throughout the county to collect donations for various food pantries. The Stuff the Bus collection at the Annandale Giant, 7137 Columbia Pike, is the only stop in the Annandale/Mason area this year.

Food security is a big problem for many local families. More than 32,200 children under age 18 (12.3 percent of children in Fairfax County) live in households that lack sufficient access to healthy food. According to the 2014 Fairfax County Youth Survey, nearly one out of five students reported going hungry at least some of the time in the past 30 days.