Paint Pots Help Feed Vulnerable Kiwis

It’s that time of year again when New Zealanders all over the country will be colouring their world and brightening thousands of lives throughout February.

Now entering its eighth year, the Resene Hunger for Colour food fundraiser will be offering crafty Kiwis a chance to get their colour fix and help struggling families in their community by swapping two cans of food for a 60–80ml testpot of Resene paint. Throughout the month of February, people can swap up to 12 cans of food for six Resene testpots, with all cans donated at Resene stores given to local Salvation Army foodbanks.

In eight years, the annual fundraiser has helped put more than 275,000 cans on foodbank shelves and seen Resene donate over $1,000,000 worth of paint.

Salvation Army Territorial Director of Community Ministries Jono Bell says that Christmas and back-to-school are incredibly busy times with increased demand, and the cans are a way to significantly restock Salvation Army foodbanks. 

“At the beginning of the year many of our centres find themselves with bare shelves and needing cans to fill family food parcels. When food stocks are low, our centres really appreciate the arrival of Hunger for Colour knowing the cans will start coming in.”

In 2021, The Salvation Army provided more than 90,000 food parcels to New Zealanders struggling to put food on the table. 

“We are so grateful for the ongoing generosity shown through Resene Hunger for Colour. And after two years of unpredictability, being able to rely on Resene really makes a difference in helping ensure families don’t go hungry,” says Vanessa Ronan-Pearce, Corporate Partnerships Manager for The Salvation Army. 

“This campaign is particularly helpful as there is a Resene Colour Shop almost everywhere we have a foodbank. Knowing that we can restock our shelves with food to share with those in need is such a relief and an amazing way to start the year.” 

Resene Marketing Manager Karen Warman says the company first collected cans for The Salvation Army after the Canterbury earthquakes. She says that staff and customers loved the idea, and the company has been looking for ways to give back ever since.

“The campaign has generated fantastic feedback over the past seven years. People really like donating food with knowing it is going directly to help someone in their local community and the testpots are a popular, versatile product which encourages people to come in,” says Ms Warman.

“We’re looking forward to the total donations for Hunger for Colour reaching over 300,000 cans.”

The Hunger for Colour campaign is a yearly highlight for craft and community groups, especially the popular rock painting groups, who eagerly anticipate the chance to restock and choose new colours. It’s also very popular with renovators as it provides the chance to try out multiple decorating colours for the cost of two food cans. It’s a win-win...

For more information head to Resene's Hunger for Colour information page