A combined effort between the "Sallies" and a supermarket chain will bring some salvation to thousands of Northlanders at Christmas.
Throughout December, shoppers at Countdown stores are being asked to donate food items to the Salvation Army's annual Christmas appeal.
Customers can put the items in specially-marked Food Rescue trolleys in the stores until December 16. The Salvation Army will hand out hundreds of food hampers on December 19 at its Whangarei centre.
Countdown Whangarei has kicked off the appeal in Northland by donating a $500 trolley-full of groceries. The chain's other 166 stores nationwide will also donate groceries and other household items to their local communities via the Salvation Army - more than $83,000 worth all up.
Salvation Army director of community services Cathy Elkington said the Whangarei centre had been handing out 100 food hampers a week for several weeks - quite a rise from the 65 hampers the service had been averaging beforehand. "That's about three days of food each time, for a family," she said.