More than $107,000 raised for Tauranga foodbank, community continues to chip in

Awhina O'Reilly, 7, and her brother Adam, 4, visit the foodbank at Christmas time every year with their mum to donate. Photo / George Novak

More than $107,000 has been raised so far for the Tauranga Community Foodbank, and with just five days left until Christmas, the food and cash donations continue to stream in.

Yesterday, a man arrived at the foodbank with 34 hams to donate.

Meanwhile, Tauranga ITM donated $5000 cash this week, and the Mount Maunganui Rotary Club donated $1000.

Form Building and Developments dropped off a big load of food items yesterday afternoon.

The generosity of the Tauranga community continues to amaze foodbank staff and volunteers, who have been rushed off their feet.

"Oh my goodness, just when I think the appeal has reached its peak we have had another amazing day of people giving and supporting foodbank," manager Nicki Goodwin said yesterday afternoon.

"So many great food donations still arriving which we are sorting and storing for the coming months."

She said there had also been a lot of cash donations made anonymously to the foodbank's bank account – "which we are so grateful for".

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Goodwin said.

So far there have been 25,056 food items (valued at $2 each) and $57,004.10 cash donated.

That is $107,116.10 raised since the Bay of Plenty Times Christmas Appeal started on November 11.

This week Awhina O'Reilly, 7, and her brother Adam, 4, from Brookfield took big bags of candy canes to the foodbank.

And later this week they will return to drop off about 50-80 gingerbread men they have baked with their mum Theresa. All they need to do is ice them.

Theresa said she has been taking her kids to the foodbank at Christmas time for at least the last four years so that they can see a lot of children do not have what they have.

She said she also donates to the foodbank throughout the year, but usually goes when Adam and Awhina are at preschool and school.

"So when we go each Christmas, they come in, and I ask the manager to show them around so they can have a good reminder.

"We are a Christian family, and we always believe in giving, so each Christmas we always go around, and we give out parcels."

As well as helping the foodbank, the O'Reilly family donate food and care packages to the women's refuge, the homeless shelter and to different retirement villages.

"It's about trying to teach them about giving, trying to make it like a tradition at Christmas," Theresa said.

She said both Adam and Awhina enjoy doing it.

Theresa said this year she has noticed a lot of families at Brookfield School, where Awhina attends, talking about the rise in living expenses.

"So I just hope that other families will do something as well – that if they can give, they will."