JAMESTOWN, NY — With Thanksgiving approaching and grocery costs continuing to strain household budgets, CHQ Transit is launching a food drive to stock three local food pantries ahead of the holiday season.
The “Fill the Bus” campaign begins Oct. 15 with the goal of collecting enough nonperishable food to fill a CHQ Transit bus before the donations are distributed to local pantries.
Ethan Luce, Chautauqua County mobility manager, told WKBW the timing is intentional.
“The Thanksgiving season especially is where a lot of people are thinking about food and, like, those who do not have enough food,” Luce said. “It’s a very meal-centered holiday.”
Luce said the holiday period is also an important time for the participating pantries.
“This is their biggest moment of need because this is kind of when they might be doing a little bit extra above and beyond,” Luce said.
The local effort comes as food costs remain a concern for Americans.
Scripps News found grocery prices were flat from July to August and 2.2% higher than a year earlier, citing the government's consumer price index. Research from Motley Fool Money found that the average American household spent $677 per month on groceries in 2025, 31% more than in 2019.
Jack Caporal, research director at The Motley Fool, told Scripps News that higher costs can cause shoppers to substitute cheaper products or purchase less food to keep their spending down. Food access also remains a broader challenge globally. The Global FoodBanking Network reported in September that an estimated 673 million people worldwide were undernourished in 2024, citing The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 report.
Shenggen Fan, a board member of The Global FoodBanking Network and professor at China Agricultural University, told the organization that food distribution remains part of the problem. “Globally, together, we may produce enough food, maybe more than enough,” Fan said, “but distribution is a problem.”
Fan said locally based food banks can play an important role because they know where food is needed and where it can be connected.
In Chautauqua County, donations collected through Fill the Bus will go to the First Covenant Church Food Pantry and Jamestown SDA Church in Jamestown and The Lord’s Vineyard Church in the Dunkirk area.
Luce said organizers intentionally chose smaller pantries that do not receive as many donations.
Riders can donate a nonperishable food item on any CHQ Transit bus. In return, they will receive a $1 coupon toward their next ticket. Luce said riders can receive one coupon per ride as long as they make a donation.
People who do not ride the bus can still participate. Drop boxes are available at the CHQ Transit office at 234 Hopkins Ave. in Jamestown and at 2 Aero Drive in Dunkirk. Bus coupons, however, are only available for donations made aboard a bus.
The effort is also designed to familiarize more residents with public transportation.
“We call this Fill the Bus because we want to fill the bus with food, but we also wanna fill the bus with riders,” Luce said.
Donations will be accepted through November 16.
