When it comes to giving, once again Te Puke has delivered.

The response to last week’s Emergency Services Food drive was “amazing,” said Te Puke Foodbank manager Clare Cooper.

“It was great. Every year I think: ‘The economy’s a bit tougher, we might get a bit less’, and every year we don’t.”

She said until sorting is completed, it is difficult to quantify how much was collected – and even after the collection, donations were still coming in.

“[The following day] we had people pouring through the door. They’d missed the truck or were out, or for different reasons had missed it, so they were bringing it in – it’s pretty special. It’s a pretty special community.”

Some of those doing the collecting had their children with them, said Cooper.

“It’s lovely to see that – bringing their children up with an understanding that life isn’t easy for everybody.”

She guessed it could take a week or more to sort through the donations “but it will all get sorted through. All our stock gets rotated to make sure the stock that needs using first goes out the door”.

A few years ago the date of the collection was brought forward because of the time required to sort and pack, Cooper said.

“We start packing [food parcels] the second week of December and we’ve got 200 parcels booked already, plus the 50 odd we are doing every week anyway.”

A collection will be held at Pukehina Beach early-December and that too will add to the foodbank’s stocks, Cooper said.

Among the donations was a note that Cooper thinks must have been written by a child, that read: “Thank you for what you do for our community”.

Once again rain held off during the collection time.

“One year it rained right up to the time and one year it rained as soon as we put the barbecue away,” said Cooper.

“But to be honest, those who come and help, I think it would take more than a bit of rain to dampen them down.”