Christmas appeal: Staff hitting the streets for can drive

At last year's can drive in Papamoa, Summerland Crescent residents Jenny Ericksen and Summer Ericksen, 11, donated food to the foodbank. Photo/file

Volunteers will soon be coming to a street near you to collect cans for the Tauranga Community Foodbank.

Bay of Plenty Times staff will be joined by foodbank helpers and other volunteers to collect food from Tauranga neighbourhoods in the next three weeks.

On Wednesday, the can drive will be visiting Greerton. Volunteers will meet at Greerton Village School at 5.30pm and visit as many homes as they can between Pooles Rd and Argyll Rd to collect donations of non-perishable food such as cans, dried pasta, recipe mixes, and sanitary items.

Anyone living outside these areas who wants to make a donation can come to the Greerton Village School carpark, where a volunteer will be on hand for an hour from 5.30pm to collect items.

This can drive will be followed by another on December 5 in Bellevue, where volunteers will be visiting homes on Windsor St, Princess Rd and Sherwood St.

The following week on December 13, the last can drive will be run in Arataki around Grenada St.

Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said the can drives were a great way to promote the foodbank.

It also gave volunteers the opportunity to answer questions people had about the organisation.

"We find that happens a lot, we ask people for a donation and they are interested in finding out about what we do.

"It's great to have different people participating, the Bay of Plenty Times staff and the other volunteers that come down."

Mrs Goodwin said the drives were a way for people to give an item or two to help.

"That adds up to a substantial amount at the end of the day."

The Bay of Plenty Times Christmas Appeal has so far raised $6622 for the Tauranga Community Foodbank in cash and donated items.

The appeal runs right until the foodbank shuts its doors for Christmas.

Mrs Goodwin said more people were visiting the foodbank every day to drop off donations.

"We've had some good cash donations as well. What's interesting is a couple of those donations I've received at the foodbank itself in the last few weeks have been from repeat donors.

"The appeal has really helped people have that psyche of helping others at this time of year."