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Tauranga's foodbank has received a $3300 donation towards rental costs from a local rotary club.
Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club's generosity will help to cover two months of the foodbank's rent.
The foodbank faced a new challenge of having to pay $34,000 a year in rent when it moved from its council-owned building on Dive Cres to the new premises on Brook St.
However, Tauranga Community Foodbank chairwoman Sharon Hitchcock said Tauranga City Council subsidised this year's rent to $20,000.
Mrs Hitchcock said the donation relieved some of the pressure of paying the new rent bill.
"It means we can budget going forward," says Sharon. "We can concentrate on our core business, which is supplying food to people in need if we know the rent is covered. We are so grateful."
Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club president Evan Turbott and community services manager Uli Hoppe are encouraging other businesses to also donate towards the foodbank's rental costs.
"What we'd love to see is businesses committing to two to three years of rent to help us plan ahead," says Sharon.
Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless said there are many different community groups in Tauranga all doing good work, but there were still costs involved.
"The principle is that everybody pays something towards rent. The alternative is for the ratepayers to pay the rent but that's where you run into problems."
Mr Brownless believed the rent for the new Brook St building was reasonable.
He said the foodbank was in a commercial area, which meant it would have a higher rent than community groups renting in areas such as the Historic Village. "That area is less expensive."
Tauranga Community Foodbank supplies food parcels to families and individuals in need of extra assistance.
The Bay of Plenty Times Christmas Appeal for the Tauranga foodbank raised close to $130,000 in January 2016.
Mrs Hitchcock said that money was used to buy food for families and individuals in need for the beginning of 2017.
• Donations to Tauranga Community Foodbank can be made at Unit G, 4 Brook St by Fraser Cove, or online at www.taurangafoodbank.co.nz