The Bay of Plenty Times has launched its annual Christmas Appeal supporting the Tauranga Community Foodbank.
Twenty struggling Tauranga families will soon receive hundreds of dollars to spend on groceries, as well as a Christmas tree “decorated with love”, thanks to Tauranga Crossing.
The shopping centre in Tauriko has chosen Tauranga Community Foodbank as its charity to give back to this Christmas by collecting food donations and supporting this year’s Bay of Plenty Times Christmas Appeal.
The six-week annual appeal, supported by The Hits Bay of Plenty 95.0FM, launched on November 9 and collects donations of food and money to support the foodbank through the holidays and into 2025.
Tauranga Crossing launched its season of giving with a Christmas tree grove installation on Wednesday.
Twenty joyfully decorated Christmas trees are on display across two groves.
Tauranga Crossing marketing manager Lana Stretton said Christmas was a busy season and the team could not wait to see the community’s generous spirit.
The trees were decorated by 18 retailers, the Tauranga Crossing Centre management team, and the Tauranga Community Foodbank.
After two weeks, all 20 trees will be donated to local families and each family will also receive a $500 Pak’nSave supermarket voucher to help with groceries.
“Tauranga Crossing and our retailers are looking forward to bringing a smile to the faces of families that are doing it tough to make sure they have essentials to have a happy Christmas,” Stretton said.
The Tauranga Crossing Christmas tree grove has 20 decorated trees that will be given away to families in need this Christmas. Photo / Collab Digital
“Giving families in need a Christmas tree that has been decorated with love from our teams at Tauranga Crossing, together with a $500 voucher from Pak’nSave, is our way of sharing joy this Christmas.”
She said for many local families, the Christmas season can be challenging.
“To show our support, we wanted to bring our retailers together, who come from our local community, and involve all people of Tauranga with a food donation collection point.”
The collection point can be found on level 1 of the shopping centre and items suitable for Christmas will be collected for the Tauranga Community Foodbank from November 13 until Christmas Eve.
Nicki Goodwin, Tauranga Community Foodbank general manager, is thrilled to have Tauranga Crossing supporting the Christmas appeal this year. Photo / Alex Cairns
Nicki Goodwin, Tauranga Community Foodbank general manager, said there is always a high need for support for the local community and, sadly, this was not limited to the festive season.
“We know that holidays like Christmas can stretch the grocery budget to breaking point so the act of giving is really important in times like this as it can bring so much joy to those who need it the most.
“We’re thrilled to have Tauranga Crossing supporting us this Christmas at a time when support means so much,” Goodwin said.
Bay of Plenty locals were invited to drop off food at Tauranga Crossing to help feed families over the festive season.
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.
