By Ollie Ritchie
Christmas is meant to be a time for food, family and festivities, but for many it's a real struggle.
So today hundreds of volunteers at one Auckland church came together to help make Christmas special for those in need.
They did their bit to spread some Christmas cheer by packing food hampers for people in need.
There are plenty of parcels; thousands have been sent to families across Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and even the Cook Islands.
The 600 volunteers today spent hours preparing the boxes, which include products for Christmas breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Sending out the parcels is a team effort, with more than 100 community groups picking them up to then deliver. They are all volunteers.
Organisers say there has been a demand for food parcels at Christmas.
This is the 15th year the Life Church has run the Christmas box project. Fifteen years ago they delivered around 40 food parcels to families in need. Today that number is at 14,000.
But numbers aside, it's all about celebrating the real meaning of Christmas.
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