Cash or cans — first collection for community foodbank begins

Today the first of many end-ofyear collections for the Tauranga Community Foodbank begins.

Members of the Tauranga Te Papa Rotary Club will be collecting cash or cans while at Bureta Countdown. Their efforts come as the launches its Christmas Appeal this weekend.

Club member Neil Percival said the Rotary club will be at the supermarket from 10am to 6pm, and doing the same again at Countdown in Bethlehem in two weeks.

“Most of us in society don’t realise how desperate some people are. Particularly when it’s food. There’s a terrible problem out there.”

Percival would know. He’s spent that past two to three years on the board of the foodbank and has just this week stepped down from the role.

“There’s something particularly rewarding about helping in society.”

Percival said the Rotary club always had a close affinity with the Tauranga community foodbank.

“We always support local charities and we decided to focus on the foodbank, especially coming up to Christmas. The Rotary club generally has a close association with the foodbank in Tauranga.”

The idea of doing a cash or cans collection “was a new one for us” but Percival hoped people without cash would be happy to donate one or two food items.