Dunedin Central Station Senior Firefighter and Emergency Services Christmas Can Appeal event organiser Aimee Taylor said the haul was huge this year.
"I believe this was the largest ever collection, it was massive."
On December 7, emergency services from around Dunedin banded together to go street-by-street collecting canned goods to fill the stores of Dunedin foodbanks for the coming year.
The crews drove past homes while using their vehicles’ sirens to call out Dunedin residents to drop off their canned goods.
The grand total for the event was 1000 banana boxes filled with cans and non-perishable goods.
"It was huge.
"It was about one-quarter more food collected than last year — 2022’s count was 700 banana boxes, this year was around 1000, which is just massive."
Ms Taylor said the preparedness of Dunedin residents was great to see.
"People were aware and prepared this year.
"They were ready and waiting.
"There was quite a lot of people who weren’t home who had left cans out by their house.
"I haven’t seen any ‘letters to the editor’ this year about the noise, so that’s a win."
With demand and pressure soaring for foodbanks at this time of year, the record-breaking haul was a happy sight for volunteers and charities alike.
The volume was so great many vehicles were returning to base halfway through their run to offload goods before hitting the road again.
"Overall, it was awesome, and Mosgiel’s can drive was just as successful."
