If it’s February, it must be time to Fill That Bus.

The Hamilton City School District’s annual food drive and hunger awareness program kicks off this week as students and staff at every building in the district gathers enough food to fill a bus, to be donated to the Shared Harvest FoodBank.

This is the fourth year for the drive, which has delivered more than 107,000 pounds of food to Shared Harvest, according to Executive Director Tina Osso. That amount is enough to provide about 84,000 people with a meal.

The district’s food drive “couldn’t happen at a better time,” Osso said.

“It’s great that the whole school system is involved,” she said, “and this is the hardest time of the year for us to find donations and our inventory is exhausted after the holidays.”

Each building will be hosting a slate of activities to encourage participation and raise hunger awareness. Last week, students at Hamilton High School took a survey to test their knowledge of hunger issues, and later this week will be given the opportunity to answer five questions about hunger to enter a drawing for a gift card.

Teachers and administrators in several schools have volunteered to take a pie in the face to encourage friendly competitions.

The public is invited to bring canned goods to Friday’s basketball game for the cause.

“For every five cans a person brings, their name is entered into a drawing for a gift card during halftime,” said Zellene Miller, the high school’s career development coordinator. “Cans will be collected prior to the game in the hallway.”

The community can also participate in the Empty Bowls Project, a culminating soup luncheon for the drive, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 16 at Wilson and Garfield middle schools.

At the luncheon, guests choose from a collection of handmade bowls created by Hamilton City School students, staff and parents as well as local artists and potters.

Bowls are then filled with the purchaser’s choice of soup. Bread, desserts and beverages will also be served.

Luncheon guests then keep their bowls to use or display at home and to serve as a reminder that there are always empty bowls in the world,” said Terry Haynes-Tony, art teacher at Ridgeway Elementary School and coordinator of the Empty Bowls project.

Music from school groups across the district will be provided at both locations.

The cost is $10 per person of any age and includes a ceramic. Children can eat for $5 without taking a bowl. All of the food and drinks have been donated, so the entire admission fee goes directly to Shared Harvest FoodBank and Hamilton’s Open Door Food Pantry.