Kindergartens and schools from around the country are doing their part to help the hungry, collecting more than 70,000 cans of food.

And a generous donation by Wattie's has taken the total to 95,000 cans.

The drive is part of the third annual Wattie's Cans for Good campaign which took place in August.

The cans go towards helping The Salvation Army stock up its foodbanks to assist New Zealanders who are in need.

'We were astounded by the generosity and support from schools and kindergartens for Wattie's Cans for Good. Household budgets are stretched by rising living costs, especially for rent and power. These cans are a vital part of food parcels and a great way to help reduce the stress on families who are doing it tough”, says Major Pamela Waugh, The Salvation Army's secretary for Social Services.

'The food parcels we provide to our families mean they can keep food on the table while dealing with extra financial struggles.”

This year also celebrated 25 years of the long-standing relationship between Wattie's and The Salvation Army. Over this period Wattie's has run high-profile, public-facing can fundraising campaigns supported with matched donations from Wattie's to restock foodbank shelves at critical times of the year when demand for food support can outstrip supply.

To date more than 1.4 million cans have been donated through this partnership.

According to Wattie's Communications Manager Tina Wong, the key concepts of ‘generosity', ‘giving' and ‘helping' are what drive the partnership.

'It's a real honour to have had such a long term partnership and know that through the generosity of communities, schools and kindergarten's we are all helping to make a difference to Kiwis who are struggling,” says Tina.

More than 240 kindergartens and schools took part in the two week campaign, which goes beyond other fundraisers combining 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.

'It's great to see schools participate not only by their support and donation of cans, but also by the discussions students are having in class, and the positive messaging that comes across in the can creative competition,” says Tina.

Participating schools also had the opportunity to get creative by making something out of their donated cans, be it a picture or shape made out of cans or a low level can-structure as well as designing a label for a can of Wattie's peaches.

The winning schools with most impressive and creative designs for Can Creation were Egmont Village School (Taranaki), Northcote Primary (Auckland), Papakaio Primary (Oamaru), Riverlands School (Blenheim), and Coatesville School (Auckland).

The winners will receive a $500 voucher to put towards art or school supplies.

The winning schools for the Can Label were Redwood School (Tawa, Wellington), Opihi College (Temuka), and Havelock North Intermediate (Havelock North).

The can label design winners will each win a case of Wattie's peaches wrapped with their winning can label design, Wattie's Tomato Sauce and $100 towards their school's sausage sizzle.

www.watties.co.nz/cansforgood