Rotorua Salvation Army community ministries manager Darnielle Hoods (centre), community ministries wellbeing team leader Sally Wilson (right) and food security co-ordinator Tracey Ball. Photo / Annabel Reid
Rotorua Salvation Army community ministries manager Darnielle Hoods (centre), community ministries wellbeing team leader Sally Wilson (right) and food security co-ordinator Tracey Ball. Photo / Annabel Reid
A grandmother raising three mokopuna (grandchildren) on a pension “wept” as the Rotorua Salvation Army arrived with groceries and wrapped presents.
Rotorua Salvation Army community ministries manager Darnielle Hoods said it was just one of the experiences during the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal that brought home why the workmattered “so deeply”.
The 2025 appeal raised almost $93,000 in donations, and has so far helped more than 500 local people put food on the table and gifts under the tree.
Hoods said the local grandmother had already “made peace” with the idea that her Christmas would “look different”.
She thought there would be no presents or “traditional meal” – just whatever she could pull together from the back of her cupboards.
The Christmas Appeal helped change that, and when presented with her food and gifts, she cried with joy and relief.
This final tally from this year’s appeal included 11,120 food items, valued at an average $3 each for a total of $38,973, plus $24,960.50 in cash and vouchers, and 776 gifts together worth about $29,000.
Run in partnership with The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM, the appeal launched on November 15 and mobilised the community behind the Rotorua Salvation Army Foodbank over the six weeks in the lead-up to Christmas.
It aimed to support the foodbank to help struggling whānau through the Christmas period and into 2026.
Hoods said her team had received “a lot” of feedback reflecting the same “genuine gratitude” as the grandmother had shown.
“Many whānau have told us that without the appeal support, their children wouldn’t have had a Christmas at all,” she said.
“Some were able to give presents to their children for the first time ever.”
Hoods said it was “really beautiful” to see whānau continuing to thank the local Salvation Army team into 2026, showing just how much the appeal meant to families during “such a crucial time”.
Lynmore Primary School student Serene Stevens delivers donations to the Grinch during The Hits Fill the Bus. Photo / NZME
Demand for the foodbank was already high when the appeal began, with referrals in 2025 surpassing the 2024 total before the campaign had started.
As of the week of November 10, 2025 referrals totalled 3788.
Hoods said 528 individuals and whānau had booked appointments and come through the foodbank’s supermarket, Te Kai Mākona, to choose and receive kai (food) and gifts during the appeal.
Some donations flew out the door almost as quickly as they arrived.
Half of the $22,000 worth of food and gifts collected during The Hits Fill the Bus can drive on December 4 was distributed to whānau in need within two weeks.
Hoods said the foodbank was already beginning to pick up again as 2026 gets underway.
She said none of the impact of the appeal would have been possible without the generosity of the Rotorua community.
Their donations made a “tangible difference in people’s lives”.
Rotorua Salvation Army community ministries manager Darnielle Hoods (left), community ministries wellbeing team leader Sally Wilson (centre) and food security co-ordinator Tracey Ball. Photo / Annabel Reid
Salvation Army Rotorua operations manager Sally Wilson said many people who used the foodbank during the appeal had praised the practical changes to the service.
She said whānau were able to access increased food allowances, higher item limits and a broader range of food choices, including more meat and Christmas treats. Special kaumātua bundles were also introduced for elderly recipients.
Wilson said many families told her the extra flexibility meant they could shop with greater dignity and make choices that truly suited their households.
She said the appeal also helped ensure parents and grandparents were able to give gifts to their children and mokopuna (grandchildren), which had a profound impact on family wellbeing over the Christmas period.
The success of the campaign reflected the strength of Rotorua’s community support, and Wilson called the generosity of local “instrumental”.
“Thank you, Rotorua,” she said.
The Rotorua Salvation Army centre is open Monday to Friday, with the foodbank supermarket operating from 9.30am to 2.30pm Monday to Thursday and 9.30am to noon on Fridays.
Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.
