cost-of-living increases<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"]()
Nicki Goodwin said every dollar and donation received during the Christmas Appeal is stretched as far as possible. Photo \/ Kaitlyn Morrell<\/p>\n
According to Stats NZ, the cost of living for all households increased by 2.4% in the 12 months to September.<\/p>\n
For the average household, the cost of electricity increased 11.3% and rent increased 2.6% in the same period. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are on a very slender ledge where it doesn\u2019t take much of an increase in one cost to make everything unaffordable,\u201d Goodwin said.<\/p>\n
She said the foodbank knew people did not approach them until they had nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat that tells us is that there are a lot more people out there who are finding it really tough and are maybe hanging on by the skin of their teeth or going hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tauranga Crossing and Tauranga City Libraries are again providing drop-off points for non-perishable food during this year\u2019s appeal. <\/p>\n
Perishables and non-perishables can be dropped at the foodbank depot on Brook St near Fraser Cove.<\/p>\n
Financial donations can be made directly to the foodbank\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n
The Hits Bay of Plenty team will also be out and about collecting cans to support the appeal, thanks to car dealership Ingham Tauranga.<\/p>\n
Why your help is vital<\/p>\n
Bay of Plenty Times editor Kim Gillespie said the media played a crucial role in supporting the foodbank and amplifying its message to reach generous locals and help those in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud to back this worthy cause again this year, especially given the need is greater than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know readers will again give generously to our Christmas Appeal, as they have year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tauranga Mayor Mah\u00e9 Drysdale said the foodbank was \u201cvital\u201d to supporting local families doing it tough, especially in the lead-up to Christmas. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more than just providing food, it\u2019s about giving people hope and dignity when they need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the generosity of the community and collaboration between local organisations made the appeal possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage those in a position to help to please consider supporting this year\u2019s Christmas Foodbank Appeal. Every contribution, big or small, makes a real difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"]()
The foodbank runs with more than 75 volunteers rostered each week, and this grows to 100 per week in the lead-up to Christmas. Photo \/ Kaitlyn Morrell<\/p>\n
Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell acknowledged the work of the foodbank\u2019s volunteers and said he was \u201cproud\u201d of what they were doing for others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe magical connections between volunteers and those in need provide food relief for over 25,000 people each year, and social support in many other ways too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foodbank runs with more than 75 volunteers rostered each week, and this number will grow to 100 in the lead-up to Christmas. <\/p>\n
Uffindell said the generosity of the Tauranga community meant families who thought they could not afford to celebrate Christmas would have the opportunity to share the festive season. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you donate, just imagine the smiles that you\u2019ve helped create this Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Financial donations received throughout the six-week appeal are put towards staple foods, and help the foodbank get through the New Year as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone here is in high spirits during Christmas to mask the reality at times of how many people truly need our help,\u201d Goodwin said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we get $1 donated, we treat it like it\u2019s $100, so we will try and make that dollar go as far as it can, to make the most of someone\u2019s donation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaitlyn Morrell<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Those helped included more than 11,000 children, and 27% of people supported had never used the foodbank service…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6375,18399,5988,62394,93035,78,32295,111,43,139,69,29647,1886,1515,1227],"class_list":["post-136132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-appeal","tag-christmas","tag-families","tag-foodbank","tag-fullweek","tag-in","tag-needing","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sees","tag-support","tag-surge","tag-tauranga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}