Caversham Baptist Church associate pastor Sandra Gordon said it reached out to Caversham School to offer Christmas hampers for families experiencing hardship.
Mrs Gordon said the cost of living crisis meant some families relied heavily on the school’s free breakfast and lunch programmes, so when the school closed over the Christmas period families were under further stress and financial pressure.
The school leadership team nominated 50 families who would receive a parcel of items to help over the festive season.
The parcels include fresh fruit and vegetables, pasta, snacks, tinned goods, breakfast and pantry items as well as cleaning supplies.
Each family was able to complete a form to tick different categories of items, ensuring families with a variety of health and cultural preferences were provided with a hamper that was most useful to them.
On top of the basic grocery items, families will also be able to choose items from an extra table, including some treats, adding an additional $50 to $100 to the total value of each hamper.
Families will pick up their hampers next week, and there will also be a table of bedding and towels to choose from.
Volunteers will drop off hampers for those who do not have transport options.
Being able to provide the hampers was thanks to the generosity of members of the church, the Otago Community Trust and local businesses: Pak’nSave, Balancing Monkey Games, TGC Homes, Kaan’s Catering, Bidfood, Rotary, The Warehouse, Sanitarium, Chemist Warehouse, Mad Butcher, Night ’n Day, Fonterra, Bargain Chemist, Blue Sky Property Group and Countdown.
