About 100 Christmas hampers have been distributed to make the festive season a little easier for Whanganui families.
Both Countdown stores in Whanganui and its customers have teamed up to donate groceries to the Salvation Army hampers.
Each store donated $500 worth of Christmas goods and also put out a trolley to collect donations from the public.
Major Roger Herring said the collection ran for a couple of weeks
"So families that we have assisted and families in our emergency housing are given food and presents," he said.