Community invited to donate food and funds November 5–7 at four Rutland-area supermarkets

RUTLAND, Vt. — The Salvation Army, in partnership with BROC Community Action and the Rutland Community Cupboard, invites residents to participate in the 31st Annual Stuff A Bus Food Drive, November 5–7, 2026. This longstanding community tradition brings together local businesses, schools, volunteers, and neighbors to help address food insecurity throughout Rutland County.

Nonperishable food and monetary donations collected during the three-day event will be distributed among the three participating organizations, helping replenish local food shelves and provide essential assistance to individuals and families during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Collection Locations and Hours

Buses provided by the Marble Valley Regional Transit District (MVRTD) will be stationed at each location to receive donations. The Salvation Army’s familiar red kettles will also be available for financial contributions.

Heritage Family Credit Union, a longtime supporter of the initiative, will once again match monetary donations up to $2,000 through its Cares 4 You Foundation, extending the impact of community generosity.

Blue Alert Exercise

On Thursday, November 5, between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm, an exercise of the Vermont Blue Alert System will be conducted by the Vermont Department of Public Safety. The exercise will test the functionality of various components of Vermont’s Blue Alert system. Specifically, the VT-Alert system will send messages to the thousands of subscribers, the Vermont Agency of Transportation message boards will be populated with exercise information, and VT Lottery will activate their system to message their signs, tickets, and kiosks. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) will also be utilized to send test messages to TV and radio stations. As in the past, the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) will not be utilized. 

Please note that during this exercise, phone alerts will only occur for those who have signed up for VT-Alert. Anyone who wishes to receive AMBER Alerts and Blue Alerts in the future, including the latest up-to-date information at the time of the alert, can register for a free account by going to the VT-Alert website: https://vem.vermont.gov/vtalert, or by signing up here: https://public.everbridge.net/sign-up?orgId=453003085617457.