There has also been a major increase in the number of people using the service for the first time - with around 75 per cent of those receiving food parcels last month first timers.
While the demand is increasing, Clare says the foodbank isn’t in a bad place, but says the food drive will be invaluable in dealing with the pre-Christmas and holiday times.
“As foodbanks go we are coping really well, but that’s only because our community is so giving and then we also have such a good collaboration between other services and organisations.
“We get the leftover [free] school lunches at the end of the day so they are going out again instead of being wasted and I’ve just taken on eight new volunteers because we weren’t coping,” she says, to illustrate the success of the foodbank.
“We also get good support from the community garden, Judy Abrahams, the two supermarkets and Baker’s Delight.”
As a result, there are some areas where the foodbank is well stocked.
“We are getting a bit specific this year because there are some things that we just do not need, just because of the way that we’ve been blessed with them during the year, but there are some things that we really, really need.”
What’s needed: noodles, Milo, margarine, Vegemite and Marmite, soap, tinned beetroot, edible Christmas treats, jelly.
What’s not needed: baked beans, rice, pasta, tinned corn and crackers.
Collectors will meet at Te Puke Fire Station at 5pm on November 16 and then head out on to the streets.
“There always seem to be people that they miss but can only do what they can do. I think they are going to have quite a big crew this year so the bigger the crew, the more we can get out there into the community.”
Anyone who is missed but who wants to donate can do so at The Hub Te Puke on Jocelyn St.
Many in the community also donate fresh fruit and vegetables harvested from their gardens.
