Foodbank general manager Nicki Goodwin said she is "gobsmacked" by emergency services donating their time to collect food during the busy hoilday season. Photo / Alex Cairns
Hato Hone St John, Fire and Emergency New Zealand and the police would be involved in the evening.
Still, if your street did not receive a visit, foodbank general manager Nicki Goodwin said there were always other opportunities to help.
“Even if the services don’t make it down someone’s street, it raises awareness,” Goodwin said.
Emergency services can be busiest during the silly season, so it was an immense privilege for Goodwin to have them help out the foodbank.
“I am gobsmacked that these services are willing to volunteer their time when they already have incredibly stressful jobs.”
She said the food donated in Pyes Pā and Mount Maunganui would support the community foodbank, with Ōtūmoetai supporting the Salvation Army’s food service.
She said not every area could or would be visited on Tuesday, because covering Tauranga would require every emergency service in the city.
St John, Fire and Emergency and police are involved in the food drive on Tuesday. Photo / Tom Eley
The combination of the foodbank, emergency services and the Salvation Army brings an awesome force together for Christmas to help the most vulnerable, Tauranga Salvation Army manager Sarah Way said.
“He waka eke noa. We’re all in this together, so we have to be joining forces,” Way said.
Food insecurity was rising in Tauranga as more families battled a cost-of-living crisis and rising unemployment, with new whānau and individuals visiting a foodbank.
