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

The 2024 Fill The Fire Truck for FAITH Food Pantry — the 22nd annual presentation of the collection for the nondenominational pantry — is scheduled for Saturday, November 23, from 9 am until 1 pm.

Note the collection will conclude one hour earlier than previous years.

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 and Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company will again be accepting donations at Sand Hill Plaza, 228 South Main Street, as in past years.

SHVFR EMS Captain Karin Halstead has coordinated the Fill The Fire Truck effort since its inception.

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.

Requested items for this year’s pre-Thanksgiving event again include all the fixings for a holiday meal. Donations have traditionally also included coffee, cereal, laundry detergent, pasta, sauce, chili, soup, personal hygiene items (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razors, lotions, toilet paper, paper towels).

“Hams, whole chickens, and turkey breasts are good too,” Halstead told The Newtown Bee in 2022. She confirmed this week that those items would still be gratefully accepted. “The pantry is low again this year, so they’ll be helped with everything that’s given to them.

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

Fill The Fire Truck is a rain or shine event.