As of 10am yesterday, the foodbank had received a total of $106,318. This is broken down into $70,685.50 in cash donations and 14,253 food items, with each item valued at $2.50.
Large donations this week came from Tauranga-Te Papa Rotary, Tauranga Lyceum Club, ANZ Business Centre, Pacific Lakes Village, Plunket and The Hits Christmas Movie in the Park.
Goodwin said cash donations were “significantly” lower compared to this time last year, but what mattered most was that people were giving what they could.
She added that the demand for food support in the last four weeks had been more than last year, and 34 per cent higher than this time in 2021.
She said the next two weeks would be “hectic”.
There was a sense of people feeling overwhelmed with stress and anxiety, and the foodbank was meeting many people who had never before needed to ask for help. Goodwin said they understood how daunting this could be.