Grocery shoppers urged to ‘Stuff the Truck’ for food banks

It’s easy to help neighbors during the holidays thanks to Ray’s Food Place and Shop Smart stores that encourage customers to “Stuff the Truck.” The effort offers customers the opportunity to purchase $25 worth of food for $20. All food is donated to a local food bank, with some 38 food banks participating in Oregon and California.

“Our goal is to gather 10,000 bags of food before Christmas,” said Karl Wissmann, president and chief executive officer of C&K Market, Inc., which operates the stores. “Customers tell us how much they appreciate this event every year. It makes it easy for them, and they feel good about the fact that donated food items are based on what food banks need.

Since the effort launched in November, customers have donated approximately 3,983 bags with a total value of $79,440. Customers in the Central Oregon region accounted for 923 bags or 23% of the total. Each store tracks how many bags customers buy.

“Some customers asked for an online way to give,” Wissmann said. “So, this week we launched one https://stuffthetruck.gives/ . It’s exciting to add a new dimension to the program and continue our tradition of being responsive to customer requests.”

Last year, 7,531 bags helped Stuff the Truck.

Ray’s stores in the Central Oregon region are in these communities: Prineville, Sisters and two in La Pine.