Blues help battle food insecurity – Fill The Blues Bus is back! 

Fill The Blues Bus with MoreFM is back this Christmas season – but this year with a twist. 

Previously, Fill The Blues Bus was a toy collection drive but this year instead of toys, the club have set a lofty goal of collecting 30,000 non-perishable food items to help battle food insecurity for families this Christmas. 

The Blues are engaging schools, rugby clubs and businesses around the region to collect non-perishable food items from today for one month, culminating in a special event day on December 4 hosted at Blues HQ in Auckland.  

The event day is where the Blues Bus will be filled with the collected food and doubles as a chance for fans to attend an open pre-season training session and connect with players through various activities and activations.  

Following the December 4 event day, three charities will assist in the distribution of the food - The Village Community Trust (West Auckland), South Seas (South Auckland) & Whakaora Kai (Northland). 

The Northland food collection will take place on December 12, coinciding with a Blues training camp and open training session held in Whangārei. 

Blues Community and Fan Engagement Manager, Harry Sanders said the decision to pivot to food collection this season was made after discussion with the charities. 

“The core reason for doing this is using the Blues platform for good. After speaking with the charities, it was clear families were struggling to put food on the table this Christmas, so this is our way of hearing our community’s needs and doing something to help,” said Sanders.  

“We’ve already got more than 20 schools on-board the Blues Bus! They will be designated collection points throughout November and hopefully this sparks some friendly competition between the schools to boost the collection numbers.”   

“I also want to shout out Ritchies who are donating the bus and a driver for the day free of charge,” said Sanders. 

Head of Sport and Health at Te Atatū Intermediate, Tony Nemaia, said the initiative gives his students a wider perspective on life and helps create healthy communities. 

“We want to instill a sense of social responsibility and care in our students and kura. Supporting beautiful initiatives like this allows the students to think about others in their community and show us how amazing our young people can be. We’re thankful to the Blues for their vision and showing us what great looks like on and off the field. The kids are already buzzing to head into Blues HQ in December!”    

Meanwhile, Barfoot & Thompson, a proud major partner of the Blues, is mobilising its branches across the region to support this year’s Fill The Blues Bus food collection. 

Managing Director Peter Thompson shared his enthusiasm for the initiative.   

“Joining forces with the Blues for such a meaningful cause really is a privilege,” said Thompson. 

“With the focus on food collection this year, rather than toys, our team is excited to be making a real difference for families in need during the lead-up to Christmas - a time that brings out the best in community spirit.”  

“We’re looking forward to seeing how many goodies we can gather together, to help make this season a little brighter for those who need it most,” he said. 

For a full list of collection points around the Blues region and more information about the Event Day click here.

For those unable to donate a physical food item, an online donation page is available here with funds raised going to the three partner charities.

Fill The Blues Bus with More FM: 

Launch: 4 November 2024

Food collection period: 4 November till 4 December 2024

Goal: Raise 30,000 non-perishable food items 

Charities: The Village Community Trust (West Auckland), South Seas (South Auckland) & Whakaora Kai (Northland)

Auckland event day: 4 December 2024 (10am-2pm)

Northland event day: 12 December 2024 (11:30am-1pm)

Website: blues.rugby/fill-the-bus