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

The 2021 Fill The Fire Truck for FAITH Food Pantry is scheduled for Saturday, November 20, 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 and Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company will also be at their traditional collection point: Sand Hill Plaza, 238 Main Street.

SHVFR EMS Captain Karin Halstead, who has coordinated the Fill The Fire Truck effort since its inception, is again organizing this year’s collection.

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 the pre-Thanksgiving event generally 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,” Halstead told The Newtown Bee last year. “The pantry volunteers can purchase items that are needed.”

Fill The Fire Truck is a rain or shine event.