One man's mission to become a better person manifested itself in taxi-full of $500 worth of food for Tauranga's needy.
Zac Kilby said he wanted to do something special for the community this Christmas.
With help from friend Jordan Tito, Kilby filled three supermarket trolleys with non-perishable items, piled everything into a taxi and headed straight to Tauranga Community Foodbank.
"I got thinking of what's important, you know," Kilby said.
"I had this idea, instead of buying heaps of presents, why not give back? There will be kids, tamariki, out there going hungry, and it pulled my heartstrings a bit. So why not do something for the community?" Kilby said.
The friends collectively spent $500 on food at Pak'nSave Pāpāmoa.
"At Christmas time, everyone's eating their hams and their crayfish. There are people out there struggling, who don't have food on those days. It's easy to take a lot of things for granted."
Kilby, who works as a builder, said he was partly inspired by a special lady in his life "who makes me want to be a better man".
"She points me in the right direction and makes you think of the good you can do. She's got a heart of gold," he said. "When you see good people do good things, it makes you want to help too."
Tito said he fully supported his friend's efforts.
"We've been through some tough times together. It's a bit of a brotherhood I suppose you could say," Tito said.
"We might look like two different people but the heart's still the same."
Tito has been in a wheelchair since a car accident 11 years ago. He said they chose to help the foodbank because that's where they felt they could help the most "and have the biggest spread".
"If it can help, just even a little bit, the community that we live in just becomes a better place."
The newly upgraded Waitaha Reserve has been officially opened in Welcome Bay, Tauranga.