This year’s version of Newton’s Fourth of July Parade will feature something a little different, thanks to the Outreach Committee at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The church will use its float to gather canned goods and other personal products for the Salvation Army Food Pantry.

Terry Walker, a member of St. Stephen’s Outreach Committee, said the idea for the float came from Severn Rodenberg. The church had been involved in the Kids Against Hunger food drive, and with a couple of teachers in the congregation, it was noted that roughly half of the students in the Newton school district are on the free or reduced lunch program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Everybody is struggling,” Walker said. “But if everybody pitches in a little, we can do some stuff.”