Pleased to help out with food

Editorial

One of the upsides of working for a newspaper is that you generally have a good idea of things that are going on around town.

The downside is you have no excuse for being caught unprepared.

I have to admit to being a bit unprepared for the Food Bank collection on Wednesday night.

When I heard the sirens I had to scramble through the pantry for canned goods and anything else in an unopened packet, which meant a rather hodgepodge collection of bits and pieces went out to the firetruck, and will hopefully at least help make someone's pantry seem a little more full this Christmas.

Being a relative newcomer to Masterton, it was my first experience with the Fire Service-led collection and I was impressed.

It was lovely to see so many neighbours standing at their front gates with bags of groceries, and kids jumping up and down in excitement at seeing the fire truck rolling down their street.

An elderly neighbour with limited mobility drove her car down the driveway to bring her bag of groceries to the kerb.

Food Bank co-ordinator Maureen Potts has thanked those who donated goods and volunteered their time to collect and pack goods.

The annual appeal night saw more food than last year being added to the Food Bank shelves this Christmas.

We've also been collecting for the Food Bank, and a trolley in our Times-Age office has been stacked full of food donations, which were passed on yesterday.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to making someone else's Christmas a little easier.