Newtown’s five fire companies will once again join together the weekend before Thanksgiving to collect donations for the town’s food pantry.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s event will be presented.

The 2020 Fill The Fire Truck for FAITH Food Pantry is scheduled for Saturday, November 21, from 9 am until 2 pm.

As is tradition, members of Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company (SHVFR), Newtown Hook & Ladder, and Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company will be staged outside Big Y, 6 Queen Street.

Members of Botsford Fire Rescue will be staged at Sand Hill Plaza, 228 South Main Street.

Please note this is a change from the original 2020 plan, which had Botsford members collecting at their station.

Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company members will be at their station, 55 Dodgingtown Road, for this year’s event.

SHVFR EMS Captain Karin Halstead, who has coordinated the Fill The Fire Truck effort since its inception, says all firefighters participating this month in Fill The Fire Trucks will be wearing face masks.

“There will be a table to set the donations on, and then the firefighters will sort them,” she said.

As donations are received from shoppers, firefighters organize them into large cardboard boxes by type — pasta, canned goods, cleaning supplies, etc. When all donations are delivered to the food pantry that afternoon, the items are already presorted for pantry volunteers.

Halstead said the requested items for this year’s pre-Thanksgiving event includes coffee, cereal, laundry detergent, pasta, sauce, chili, soup, personal hygiene items (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors, lotions, toilet paper, paper towels), and all the fixings for a holiday meal.

“Cash and gift cards are very helpful, too,” she said. “The pantry volunteers can purchase items that are needed.”

Fill The Fire Truck is a rain/snow or shine event.