Palmy's Food Drive at your gate November 28 and online donations

Salvation Army captain Stu Lee is prepared for Palmy's Food Drive on November 28.

Palmerston North's Food Drive will be at your gate for collections on November 28, and this year donations are accepted at www.fooddrive.org.nz.

Palmerston North Salvation Army (PNSA) director of community ministries Stewart Lee says people can now go online to donate money which enables the army and Methodist Social Services (MSS) that run the two city's food banks to buy perishables.

"When families need perishables we can buy milk, vegetables and meat," says Lee.

At the last Food Drive, plastic bags were given to households in which to place their items.

This year the plastic bags were ditched and households are invited to place their items in a box and leave at the gate.

If it rains, however, the box will get wet, and Lee says householders now have the option to donate online instead.

Lee says prior to lockdown, the army's average weekly parcels of 1026 parcels were given to families from December 2018 to March 25.

Over the lockdown period in the four days from March 26 to March 31, 224 parcels were delivered through MSS and the PNSA.

Up to May 25, a total of 5967 parcels were delivered by the two food banks before returning to business as usual.

During that time, Just Zilch made and delivered 430 parcels for singles and or homeless people with no fixed abode.

From May 26 to August 1, the PNSA's weekly parcels to assist families, including bulk parcels helping other organisations, worked out to an average of 212 parcels a week.

Lee said Mirage Visual designed the posters for the Food Drive, and also set up the website for online donations.

"The community working together really helps."

The November 28 Food Drive is supported by PN supermarkets, Middle Districts Lions Club, PN and Ashhurst Lions Club, Rotary Clubs of Palmerston North, PNCC/Civil Defence, NZ Fire Service, NZ Police, St John Ambulance, Mirage Visual Ltd, Rangitāne Māori Club, Te Wakahuia Manawatū Trust, NZME, Mediaworks and GoMedia.