Extreme Roofing owner Quentin Ross has taken over the organisation of the annual event, which stopped during Covid.
He will be supplying two trucks and teams of people to drive the two collection routes.
Mr Ross — a fourth generation roofer who has lived in Wānaka for 11 years — said he was looking forward to giving back to people doing it tough with high interest rates, cost of living and housing rentals.
"I can remember the food drive pre-Covid and thought it was a really good, community-focused event and brought people together for the less fortunate people who needed a hand. I am trying to get the community involved again," he said.
Mr Ross moved to Wānaka from Auckland, where he had worked in a family business founded by his great-grandfather in the 1940s.
His sons, aged 25 and 28, also work in the roofing business and Mr Ross hopes his three grandsons might also be interested in roofing one day.
Mr Ross employs about 70 people in Wānaka, Central Otago and Queenstown, across a range of business divisions including scaffolding, steel and membrane roofing, garage doors, insulation and manufacture of roofing materials and flashing.
"The challenge for us with employing so many people, is that rental properties are scarce and rents are expensive.
"We look after our staff and we see this [the Christmas convoy] as an opportunity to help the community too," Mr Ross said.
While there had been media reports of a nationwide drop in construction recently, particularly in Wellington, Mr Ross said the industry remained strong in the Upper Clutha/Central Otago area.
The local industry had "buttoned off slightly" in the leadup to the national government election, but was now moving ahead again, and he just opened a bigger factory in Cromwell to supply roofing materials to Central Otago-Queenstown Lakes projects.
