Thank you, community: Foodbanks in Waihi and Whangamata

Waihi Salvation Army volunteers have been blessed with a respite this week after a busy Saturday when Civil Defence made an urgent request for 58 emergency food parcels.

Major Wendy Sanson says parcel requests swelled by five times the normal number during level four lockdown when there were six or seven requests a day.

"We normally do between five and seven parcels a week."

She said the community had been "amazingly generous" with donations of food, money and even another freezer to store more goods.

"New World Waihi has been allowing us to charge things up, and we have a community of people delivering for older people and sick people. We've done bulk shops over the weeks and Civil Defence has paid for a couple of bulk amounts."

However the amount of donations locally has allowed the Sallies to provide for so many locals in need.

"I have an inch and a half think of receipts, people have been amazingly generous."

Money from sales at the Salvation Army family store also funds the organisation's community work.

Whangamata Community Services Trust also wanted to give a huge thank you to all the individuals and businesses who have supported them with donations and offers of support.