The Bay of Plenty Times has launched its annual Christmas Appeal supporting the Tauranga Community Foodbank.
More than $28,000 worth of food and funds have been donated to the Tauranga Community Foodbank two weeks into the Bay of Plenty Times Christmas Appeal.
That includes about $7600 worth of food, with the 2537 items gifted valued by the foodbank at an average of $3.
The six-week appeallaunched on November 9 and aims to help fill the foodbank’s shelves and coffers for the busy holiday period and heading into 2025.
Foodbank general manager Nicki Goodwin said it was positive to see donations coming in at a similar rate to last year’s appeal.
Rotarians Lyall Holmes, Keith Owens, and Ron Lander collect cash and cans for Tauranga Community Foodbank.
Drinking chocolate, instant coffee, canned fruit, muesli bars and tinned fish would also be welcomed.
The foodbank supported more than 24,000 people over the past year, up about 9.5% on the past year and including 12,000 children.
NZ Super-reliant households needing support rose 73% to 623 in the year, and Goodwin said more people needed longer-term support.
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.
