If you hear fire sirens and police cars driving around the streets of Cromwell, Alexandra and Clyde on Wednesday evening, make a run for the letterbox - with a can(s) of food.

The annual can drive organised by Property Brokers will see young volunteer scouts roaming the streets to collect donations from residents on December 3 from 5:30pm.

People are encouraged to leave bags of non-perishable items at their gate, that will be picked up by teams and assisted by local police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ).

All collected canned goods and items will then make their way to both the Alexandra and Cromwell foodbanks and Plunket to distribute amongst families in need.

Property Brokers Cromwell agent Dawn Turnbull has been involved with the can drive for the past five years, and she’s seen it all.

Last year in Cromwell the fire siren went off just as they were about to start. The FENZ crew that was supposed to be helping with the can drive had to answer a call out.

“I said to them, are you for real? Is this a joke?”

Luckily it was just a quick call out to Tarras but the team were back to help 20 minutes later.

This year in Cromwell there will be 23 scouts, 12 FENZ crew, two fire trucks and two police cars involved.

Dawn said by the time she gets home at 10:30pm, you can guarantee there will be messages all over social media asking what the noise was about.

Meanwhile, down in Alexandra, the Salvation Army is looking forward to another successful can drive, to help stock up its Combined Churches food bank.

The Salvation Army receives redirected food from both Woolworths and New World every week, as an ongoing partnership, but is always grateful for the community’s help as well.

Captain Jonny Whybrow said unfortunately its foodbank stats show an increasing demand for services when comparing the August to October period of this year with 2024. 

“There has been a 6% increase in the number of food parcels we have given out to our community. Anecdotally, I suggest this is due to the rising cost of living, especially for renters.” 

Keep an eye out for the Central App notification on Wednesday afternoon reminding everyone to do their bit for those in need at Christmas.

Have a story to share or comment to make? Contact [email protected]