Life Community head of community response Rebecca So'e with Eroni Clarke. Photo: Supplied
A national charity says its annual festive food drive is the biggest yet as vulnerable families continue to struggle in the cost of living crisis.
This year, Life Community aims to get a record 35,000 of its Christmas Boxes, containing supermarket staples and treats, packed and ready for distribution over the coming weeks.
On Saturday, 1500 volunteers around the country, including 600 in Auckland, were packing boxes while on Friday, 500 took part in a corporate packing day.
Christmas Box said 29,000 boxes were packed in Auckland and by volunteers in Rotorua, Whangārei, Tauranga, Palmerston North, Kapiti, Porirua, Tawa, Dunedin and Invercargill. More packages would be put together next weekend in Kaikohe and Christchurch.
But the charity said it hoped to raise another $250,000 to sponsor a further 6250 Christmas Boxes for families in need.
The boxes were needed more than ever, head of community response Rebecca So'e (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) said.
About 600 volunteers pack Christmas Boxes in Auckland. Photo: Supplied
"It's been a really tough year for many families, having to withstand the cost of living increases which have exacerbated [things]. Deprivation levels have really gone up in the communities."
Many of those families were facing Christmas with little hope, but the boxes were a reminder someone cared, So'e said.
"They are taken back by the generosity of New Zealanders, the generosity of the Christmas Box project, that someone has thought about them, that someone has taken the time to pack the boxes and bring a box to their front door."
One volunteer packing Christmas boxes in Auckland was gifted a Christmas Box last year after her partner died just a few days before Christmas.
Angela Terrill said she wanted to pack boxes this year to "give back and help other people in hardship".
Angela Terrill received a Christmas parcel last year. Photo: Supplied
"It made me feel like someone cared and it took the pressure off to have some food in the cupboard.
"I volunteered this year because I know how much difference it makes to someone going through a hard time."
The Christmas Box project started in 2001 with a "humble banana box" covered in a bit of wrapping paper and a few tins of spaghetti, So'e said.
In that time, 250,000 boxes had been given away to households in need, each one packed with ingredients to create "shared meals and memories".
"A lot of thought goes into it, so that every item can be used by the families."
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