Volunteers have been preparing about 1000 hampers at Victory Church in Strathdale this week, ready to bring some Christmas cheer to local families in need.
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Victory Church pastor Michelle Heather said the preparation needed to organise goods for the hampers and distribute them was months in the making.
"The last couple of years we have produced 1000 hampers, but to do that we rely on volunteers," Ms Heather said.
An army of nearly 200 volunteers descended on Victory Church to aid in sorting, packing, wrapping and loading hampers into a trailer.
They are given to local organisations such as Haven; Home: Safe, Bendigo Community Health Services, Anglicare, the Centre for Non Violence and some government school chaplaincy programs.
Ms Heather said the demand for the hampers has been enormous, with the program taking place for more than a decade.
"We have had orders for more than 1500 hampers, so maybe next year we will have more to distribute," Ms Heather said.
Victory Church purchases the goods for their hampers from Foodbank Victoria, with extra items funded by the Victory Op-Shop in Garsed Street.
"This year we've got some cooking utensils, biscuits, chips, pasta, different sauces, all sorts of different things," Ms Heather said.
Haven; Home, Safe chief executive officer Ken Marchingo AM said the hampers provide an added bonus for clients and their families at this time of year.
"These hampers from Victory Church will add extra cheer in 88 homes this Christmas," Mr Marchingo said.
Victory Church's generosity has also been acknowledged by Bendigo Community Health Services' community engagement and communications executive Rod Case.
"These hampers will make a significant difference to our clients most in need," Mr Case said.
"We care for some clients who simply cannot afford to put food on the table at Christmas, so these hampers help enormously."
The holiday period is a time when people can struggle, in particular parents who receive support from BCHS.
"Some parents we support struggle to make ends meet week by week and not being able to provide at Christmas time can have a significant emotional toll on them," Mr Case said.
The emotional reaction of people who receive support is particularly fulfilling for both BCHS, Haven; Home, Safe and Victory Church.
"We can only thank the community for their generosity at what can be a bleak time," Mr Case said.
