A handful of Brunswick firefighters braved freezing temperatures for seven hours Friday to collect food for the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program from the parking lot of the Brunswick Hannaford Supermarket.

The Brunswick Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1718 members came up with the idea to have a “stuff a truck” food drive about three months ago, and brought Hannaford and MCHPP on board.

“We see people in tough situations when we’re out,” said firefighter Scott Dunn. “Maybe an apple pie and some Sno Balls they got at 7-Eleven are all they’re going to have in their cabinet and nothing in their fridge.”

This is a way firefighters can give back to community members who have fallen on tough times, he said.

“They don’t call us because they’re having a great day,” Dunn said. “They call us when it’s their bad day.”

While there are days when firefighters take patients to the hospital, where they can get a meal, it’s not a long-term to solution for hunger prevention. In fact, fire department administration often works behind the scenes to connect patients with resources to create a more stable situation for people.

Many people who came by Friday thanked the firefighters for their efforts.

It was hard to miss the operation, since they brought some “eye candy” with them – a fire truck with its lights flashing. Dunn said the firefighters hope to do the food drive annually. Their first “stuff a truck” effort brought in a total of 3,319 pounds of non-perishable items for MCHPP.

Helping increase the total, Bowdoin College sports teams competed to see which team could donate the most food.