Volunteers, including firefighters, police officers, ambulance staff and civil defence personnel, are set to take part in the Emergency Services Christmas Food Bank Can Appeal next week.
Co-ordinator and Senior Firefighter Aimee Taylor said despite the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union being in negotiations with Fire and Emergency NZ, members would still volunteer for the community collection event.
Donations should be limited to canned and packaged foods.
"We encourage dry, packaged food, no cash or fresh food."
The aim was to cover as many streets as possible, but if people did not see vehicles coming along their street, a collection vehicle would be nearby.
"If a vehicle does not make it near your area, go for a hunt."
Residents can follow the sound of the sirens to find a nearby vehicle where dry food items can be delivered.
SFF Taylor reminded people not to be alarmed by the sound of sirens during the nighttime collection hours.
Those who expect to be away can leave donations in visible spots for collection, such as near letterboxes or by fences.
The purpose of the appeal is to make sure foodbanks have enough supplies for families in need over Christmas.
Alongside emergency service appliances, Cooke Howlison Toyota and Mark Laughton Motors are providing about 20 collection vehicles.
Volunteer runners collecting items will include local scouts, army cadets and members from The Hits radio station.
Close to 100 volunteers will also work at collection points to organise and pack donated goods for distribution.
The initiative collected about 1000 banana boxes of food each time during the past two years of the event.
The donations will be given to local foodbanks run by Saint Vincent de Paul, Presbyterian Support Otago, the Salvation Army and the Mosgiel Community Foodbank.
The first collection will take place on Monday, December 1, between 6pm and 9pm, covering Mosgiel as well as areas such as Green Island, Brighton, Abbotsford, Waldronville, Fairfield, East Taieri, Allanton and Outram.
The second collection will be on Thursday, December 4, targeting the central city as well as East and West Harbour suburbs.
