Whanganui man's 70th birthday boosts City Mission Foodbank

Mike Boag donated a trolley of "birthday gifts" to City Mission manager Karrie Brown. Photo / Bevan Conley

Older men are not easy to buy for - and they can receive far too many bottles of Old Spice, pairs of socks and singlets, Whanganui's Mike Boag says.

It was his 70th birthday on June 19 and he asked his friends to buy him whatever food they wanted for donation to Whanganui's City Mission Foodbank.

He had a good party with about 20 friends and they each brought some food as a present. At his age and stage his friends could easily afford that, he said, and he contributed a sack of potatoes himself.

Now he gains in three ways.

"My friends had no trouble finding anything. I got the deal of being given a birthday present, and I get the thrill of giving it away and the warm feeling that it will go somewhere needed."

Boag said he hopes other people will do the same.

"It's not about me. I want to inspire other people. You could do it at funerals - don't bring flowers, bring food for the food bank."

City Mission manager Karrie Brown remembered one other person who had asked for food bank food for a birthday, and that was a 5-year-old.

She had recently put a call out for cans of basic foods like baked beans, spaghetti, corn and pasta sauce, and used them to top up last week's $1200 grocery spend.

"We were operating a wee bit hand to mouth for a while there."

During the Covid-19 lockdown, people gave money online rather than giving groceries. The City Mission's bank account number is on its Facebook page and its website for people who would like to donate money.

With the volatile Covid-19 situation, Brown has no idea how much need to expect in the near future.

"This gift is lovely. It's a great contribution of all the sorts of things that we need in food parcels," she said.