Wattie’s will donate 25,000 cans to The Salvation Army to assist with the ongoing need for food parcels.
The Wattie’s Cans for Good can collection initiative was put on hold due to Covid19, but Wattie’s remains committed to delivering the 25,000 cans on World Food Day this Friday 16th October.
Both Wattie’s and The Salvation Army are also encouraging schools nationwide to collect cans on World Food Day and donate them to their local Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army will distribute more than 100,000 food parcels this year. The Salvation Army head of Community Ministries, Jono Bell, says the ongoing need for food parcels is expected to increase as people come off the wage subsidy, and face the challenges Christmas can bring.
“Christmas is an extremely difficult time for many families, so the generosity of Wattie’s 25000 can donation and the additional cans donated from schools will make a real difference to New Zealanders when they need it the most.
“We’ve had a number of schools contact us about the Wattie’s Cans for Good can collection and despite it not officially going ahead they’re going to get pupils to run a can collection drive to coincide with World Food Day. We’d love to see other schools do the same,” says Bell.
Schools can conduct a can donation drive for The Salvation Army which they can take to their local foodbank. Information on where local foodbanks can be found here.
In previous years Wattie’s Cans for Good campaign has provided schools with a fundraising experience that combines collecting for charity with a creative competition and a set of teacher-based resource sheets designed to engage children and teachers, in a fun, team-based experience. The initiative will be back again in 2021.
“It’s really important to Wattie’s that we continue to show our support for The Salvation Army. This is our 27th year of the partnership and despite not being able to fully implement Wattie’s Cans for Good we hope that the 25,000 cans we are donating will help with the need to ensure people have access to food parcels,” says Heinz Wattie’s NZ, Managing Director Neil Heffer.
All the donated cans will be used to create food parcels for families in the lead up to Christmas.
