Tauranga Community Foodbank chairwoman Barb Thompson with Port of Tauranga chief executive Leonard Sampson. Photo / Mead Norton
Tauranga Community Foodbank chairwoman Barb Thompson with Port of Tauranga chief executive Leonard Sampson. Photo / Mead Norton
A $15,000 donation to Tauranga’s foodbank from the country’s largest port will cover a month’s worth of grocery costs for the charity.
The boost comes as the Bay of Plenty Times Christmas Appeal enters its final week on Monday, with Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin calling on the public to keep the “vital” donations coming.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Leonard Sampson handed over the cash donation to the foodbank’s new chairwoman Barb Thompson on Thursday.
Thompson, who stepped into the role about four months ago, said it was “really special” to see the “spirit of giving” come through at a corporate level this year.
She believed businesses donating to community organisations over Christmas had become more of a trend in recent years - with employees having some influence on workplaces giving back.
Thompson described the $15,000 port donation as “amazing”, saying it would likely cover a month’s worth of groceries for the foodbank.
Over the past two years the foodbank would spend about $7000 on food monthly but recently their grocery spend was up between $13,000 and $15,000 a month, she said.
She put this down to rising food prices and needing to buy a higher volume of food to meet increasing demand.
“There are a lot of different factors out there impacting the cost of living. All of them present challenges to the clients that we serve and many present challenges to us. We do buy a lot of food with our donations and to see those costs go up 10 to 20 per cent is having a big impact on us.”
She said as a donation-based service it was challenging operating when many were struggling financially as they often slowed down.
However, she remained optimistic the appeal could hit a new record this year, topping the 2020 total of $254,416. She said people “really came together” during the onset of Covid-19 and thought the current economic climate could have the same effect.
Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin. Photo / Mead Norton
Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said with one week left of the appeal she was feeling “relieved and grateful” the community had stood up to help those in need. She was “apprehensive” when it started in mid-November, worried people would not be in a position to donate.
But Goodwin said the appeal was “tracking” towards a record year for donations.
“People who can give are giving, it’s just phenomenal. I was worried that wasn’t going to be the case because I didn’t know that people still had the resources. But they are so it’s going to make a big difference for us coming into 2022.”
There needed to be one last push for donations in week six of the appeal as they were preparing for record levels of demand early next year, she said.
“Don’t stop giving. We are still here in our busiest time and busier than we have ever been at this time of the year. And that’s going to continue into January, February and March.
“The next week is still really important and vital. We are ready to accept any donation you can give.”
During this year’s appeal, she said they had received one donation of $12,000, two donations of $10,000, three donations of $5000 and one donation of $3000.
They had also received 13 donations of $1000 and two $1500 donations, she said.
All of these “generous” cash donations had come from building companies, families, trusts, accounting firms, lawyers, financial managers and community organisations.
Sampson told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend the port had been donating to the foodbank for more than 10 years and he was happy to be able to keep the tradition alive.
“This is a highlight for me. To be able to give it back is one of the nicer things we get to do.
He said supporting the cause was particularly important this year as it was a “tough economic environment” with many struggling financially.
