Thursday, October 1, 2026
79 ° Clear
79 ° Clear
Warwick Township residents once again showed their generosity on Saturday, November 22, as cars lined up outside the Warwick Fire Company for the township’s annual Pack the Police Car event. From 10 am to 2 pm, families, neighbors, and local businesses dropped off nonperishable donations, everything from cereal and pasta to toothpaste and laundry detergent, all to benefit the New Britain Food Pantry.
Now in its eighth year, this collaborative event between the Warwick Township Parks & Recreation Department, Warwick Township Police Department, and the Warwick Township Fire Department, has become a November tradition, one that brings together police officers, firefighters, volunteers, and residents in a shared effort to help others during the holiday season.
This year’s Pack the Police Car followed its usual smooth, drive-through style format at the Warwick Fire Company, where residents were encouraged to stay in their vehicles while volunteers handled the unloading. As cars pulled up, Warwick Township police officers and members of the volunteer fire department greeted drivers and collected bags filled with nonperishable food and household items. Donations were first placed symbolically in the police cars, then transferred to a large trailer stationed nearby, a system that kept the cars on display with their lights flashing throughout the event.
Families stopping by not only had the chance to meet local officers and firefighters but could also take a closer look at the fire trucks parked outside for the occasion. By the end of the day, the trailer was packed from front to back with contributions for the New Britain Food Pantry, chosen for its location in the middle portion of Bucks County, in which Warwick Township is located.
For many, Pack the Police Car has become one of those rare events that reminds everyone why community matters. “This is our feel-good event of the year,” said Dan Sharapan, Warwick Township’s Director of Parks, Recreation & Open Space, who established this fundraiser back in 2017. “We’ve done it in the cold, in the rain, even in the snow, but we always finish the day feeling good. Residents know their donations will make a real difference for local families, and the township’s staff and volunteers finish the day with a shared sense of pride. “It’s one of those events where everyone walks away smiling, and that’s what keeps us coming back every year,” Sharapan added.
Among the most requested items this year were cereal, pancake mix, canned meats and soups, pasta sauce, toothpaste, coffee, juice boxes, paper towels, and other essentials that help families stretch their budgets during the costly winter months. “When people are stuck inside in the cold, dark weather, that’s typically when these pantries need the most help,” Sharapan said. “That’s why we always schedule this event the Saturday before Thanksgiving, to help restock their shelves before the holidays.”
For the New Britain Food Pantry, the donations from this single event are monumental. “They’ve told us we’re usually their biggest donation of the year,” Sharapan said. “When we show up with a trailer full of food and toiletries, they’re out there in the parking lot crying tears of joy. It’s really emotional.”
When Sharapan first launched Pack the Police Car, the idea was to find a way to connect the township police department with residents in a positive, meaningful way while giving back to those in need. “At that time, the police didn’t really have a community outreach program that was theirs,” he explained. “They would attend our special events, but they didn’t host anything of their own. I pitched this idea to the former police chief, telling him it would benefit both the department and the township as a whole, and he was completely on board.”
That first year, the event was held outside the former Giant Supermarket in the shopping center now home to Grocery Outlet. Officers parked their patrol cars by the store entrance, handing out flyers with a list of suggested donation items. Shoppers would buy what they could and drop it off on their way out. “People loved the convenience of it,” Sharapan said. “We’d pack the police cars full until police officers drove them back to the township building to unload donations into a trailer, where another police car drove over for us to fill again.”
The event quickly gained momentum. In its inaugural year, more than 4,100 pounds of food and supplies were donated. Even when the Giant closed and the event temporarily lost its easy drop-off location, residents still showed up to give what they could. “We had a lean year after that, bringing in about 1,800 pounds,” Sharapan recalled. “But we never gave up.”
Then, in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pack the Police Car found a new home at the Warwick Fire Company, marking a turning point in its evolution. That year, donations reached an all-time high at that point of 7,140 pounds.
Over time, the logistics of the event have evolved. While donations are still symbolically placed in police cars, the bulk of the food now goes directly into a large landscaping trailer parked beside them. “That way, the police cars stay put with their lights on all day,” Sharapan said. “It creates a great visual and keeps the focus on our officers’ interaction with the community.”
That interaction, he emphasized, has always been one of the event’s main goals. “It gives residents a chance to talk to our officers in a relaxed, positive atmosphere,” Sharapan said. “And it gives the officers a chance to connect with the people they serve in a way that isn’t about tickets or traffic stops; it’s about kindness and shared purpose.”
The event also benefits the fire department in another meaningful way. “Since they’re always looking for new volunteers, this is an opportunity to get people inside their building, show them the equipment, and maybe even hand them an application,” Sharapan said. “So it’s a win-win for everyone.”
In recent years, the food pantry has stopped weighing the donations because the process took hours, demonstrating how much the community contributes. “We consistently fill the landscaping trailer from front to back,” Sharapan said. “The food pantry even calls in extra volunteers to help us unload. It’s been full every year since we moved the event to the firehouse.”
Sharapan estimated that roughly 90 percent of donations come from residents and families, with the remaining 10 percent from local businesses. “We’ve had karate studios, grocery stores, and even small offices run collection drives for us throughout November,” he said. “Everyone pitches in.”
By Monday morning, November 24, following another successful Pack the Police Car event, the Warwick Township staff and volunteers delivered the packed trailer to the New Britain Food Pantry, just in time to make a difference for local families before Thanksgiving.
