Packed lunches for Christchurch

University of Otago student Nic Twaddle (left, 29) and campus pastor Josh Eyre (27) with donated lunch packs destined for the University of Canterbury Volunteer Student Army in Christchurch. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
University of Otago student Nic Twaddle (left, 29) and campus pastor Josh Eyre (27) with donated lunch packs destined for the University of Canterbury Volunteer Student Army in Christchurch. Photo by Gregor Richardson.
An army marches on its stomach, and those volunteers helping people affected by the Christchurch earthquake want your help.

University of Otago students volunteers are preparing more than 10,000 non-perishable lunch packs to be sent to the 2000-strong University of Canterbury Student Volunteer Army this weekend.

The volunteers were working in non-critical outlying areas, clearing silt and lifting bricks for those requiring assistance, and required lunches to "keep them going", University of Otago student Nic Twaddle said.

The Dunedin arm of the student army, with support of the student association, was preparing lunches for its Christchurch counterparts, and was asking for any available individual items or lunch packs of muesli bars, chocolate bars, raisins, crackers in plastic lunch wrap, and tuna cans.

A collection point would be set up at the student union, opposite the Otago Museum, and any contributions would be gratefully received today from 10am to 6pm.

More than 1000 packed lunches were expected to be sent by car today, with the remainder to be freighted north tomorrow morning by Northern Southland Transport, which had donated its services, Mr Twaddle said.

 

Across the generations

This weekend my teenage daughter was telling her grandmother about putting together a couple of boxes of lunch packs for the student volunteers helping clean up Christchurch.

"I felt I should add a note to each bag saying what a wonderful job they are doing" she said. 

"I know what you mean," her grandmother replied. "When I was your age, I helped make up Red Cross food parcels for our prisoners of war.  but we couldn't put any notes in because if they were found the parcel would be confiscated". 

Amazing

It was amazing to see all the people coming in as we dropped our car-load off. Looks like they have a web site - http://www.keepthemgoing.org/

Since there's no Sunday paper it might be worth checking back in to see what else they might need

Also perhaps...

Small tetra pak fruit juices, wee cans of "Chop-Chop" chicken and small cans (with flip lids) of anything that can be eaten cold.

As a student, I used to enjoy tinned baked beans and spaghetti cold. Tastier that way.

Was great to see families at Port Chalmers NW supermarket today - at the checkout with trollies full of everything above, plus plastic snap-bags.