Resene customers donate more than 11,000 cans of food to The Salvation Army in Hunger for Colour Appeal

Resene customers have helped give a timely boost to Salvation Army foodbanks, restocking shelves after the busy Christmas and back to school period. This year, despite cost-of-living challenges, more than 11,000 cans of food were swapped across the motu for Resene testpots during the Hunger for Colour Appeal.

Held throughout Aotearoa every February for the last 10 years, the Resene Hunger for Colour Appeal sees cans swapped in-store for Resene paint testpots. The cans bolster The Salvation Army’s foodbanks at just the right time.

“Our Foodbanks are often depleted at the start of the year, when many people rely on them to put food on the table after meeting the extra expenses a new school year brings,” Salvation Army Territorial Director of Community Ministries Jono Bell says.

“With winter just around the corner and our centres starting to run low on stock they really appreciate Hunger for Colour. It’s a relief for them to know that generous people in their communities always get behind this campaign. This support makes a huge difference in their planning for the extra people who rely on us for help over winter.”

The Resene Hunger for Colour Appeal started following the Canterbury earthquakes, when cans were collected for people affected by the quakes. Since then, Resene has collected more than 315,000 cans of food for The Salvation Army.

“We are blessed that Resene ColorShops, like The Salvation Army, are based all around the country and people are generous in donating to their local foodbanks through this appeal,” says Bell.

“Pretty much everywhere we have a foodbank, there’s a Resene ColorShop so it’s an incredibly important annual fundraiser for us. We’re really grateful to Resene for the past ten years of support and their commitment to running the campaign again.”

This year the Rotorua Resene ColorShop saw the biggest community support for the campaign, with 657 cans donated.

The Hunger for Colour campaign is a yearly highlight for craft and community groups. It’s also popular with renovators, as it provides the chance to try out multiple decorating colours for the cost of two food cans. The value of a testpot is $6.50.

Resene Marketing Manager Karen Warman says, “The success of the campaign shows the enthusiasm New Zealanders have for helping others struggling to put food on their table, and for colour and DIY projects.”

The Salvation Army Territorial Media Officer, 021 945 337, email: media@salvationarmy.org.nz (The Media Officer responds to enquiries from media outlets and journalists. If you would like to donate, are in need of help, or have some other non-media-related enquiry, please call 0800 53 00 00.)