The demand on our food banks "never stops", Frances Walshe of St Vincent de Paul says.
But Sunday's food drive has helped to fill shelves at St Vinnies and the Salvation Army - for now.
"There's a huge need and it's getting bigger all the time," Lynda Ellington, mission director of the Dannevirke Salvation Army, said.
"There have been so many times when we've run out of food this year and the number of mouths we're feeding just increases. Take this Friday, we had 18 mouths to feed for seven days and we're helping out bigger families for longer periods."
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