What happened when Bill’s Donuts asked for hurricane donations? THIS!

The iconic doughnut shop at 268 N. Main St. in Centerville put out the word yesterday morning on Wednesday asking customers to “Help Us Help Houston” by donating items such as diapers, Depends, rubber boots and gloves, mosquito repellant, new underwear, and plastic totes with lids. The shop’s owners parked an empty panel truck in the parking lot and asked customers to fill it up.

Boy, did they.

>> RELATED: What to know about Bill's Donut Shop

As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, the panel truck was filled from floor to ceiling, and the donations continued to pour in, filling much of the doughnut shop itself.

RELATED: Walmart gives $20M to Hurricane Harvey relief

The owners of Bill’s told WHIO-TV news anchor James Brown last night that the shop had “enough for two more trucks,” and a second truck was secured later in the day.

Here’s what the shop’s owners told me as of 7:15 this morning, Aug. 31:

“We will start loading truck number three mid-morning. Will keep doing this until Monday."

RELATED: These photos of kids staring longingly at Bill’s Donuts will make you say ‘SAME’

Other local businesses and groups are finding ways to help the hurricane's survivors, including The Caroline restaurant in Troy, which will donate $1 for every meal it serves through Saturday night to the Houston Foodbank.

RELATED: Bill’s Donut Shop named 1 of the 2 ‘Best in America’

Bill’s Donut Shop has become a fixture in the Centerville community and a favorite among doughnut enthusiasts from all over the region. It moved from its original downtown Dayton location to Centerville in 1967. In the 1970s, there were several Bill’s locations in the Dayton area, including Vandalia, Kettering and Huber Heights. The shop moved to its current location on Ohio 48 in 1979.

The shop has garnered plenty of national accolades and shout-outs, including from People Magazine, which included Bill's Donuts among the 12 doughnut shops in America that collectively represent one of the "100 reasons to Love America."

Local doughnut shop among top 50 in the U.S., magazine says (February 2013)

People also has ranked Bill's #2 in the nation, behind only to Dough in New York City. And Bill's also made the list of "The 15 Best Donut Shops in America" as compiled by BusinessInsider.com.

Bill's was also the only doughnut shop in Ohio to be included in Saveur magazine's March 2013 story entitled "The World's Best Donuts: The 50 Finest Donut Shops in America." A month later, USA Today named Bill's one of the "10 Great Places to Get Doughnuts" in the U.S.

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And in June 2015, a food blog on HuffingtonPost.com identified the devil's food doughnut at Bill's as one of the "Dozen Best Donuts in America," proclaiming that it "begged to be dunked in chocolate."

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Bill's Donuts is open 24 hours a day. For more information, check out the Bill's Donut Shop Facebook page or call (937) 433-0002.

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