By Sue Newman

This morning a truck load of love is making its way north from Ashburton to Kaiapoi, all thanks to the efforts of one man.

Rodger Withell, normally known as the lettuce man, has put on a new hat in the wake of last Saturday's earthquake and become the one-man food-drive band to help out earthquake victims.

He had a simple idea, one born out of his normal stock in trade. Add to that a friend in Kaiapoi, throw in an earthquake and the food drive was born.

Watching the quake drama unfold and hearing first hand from a friend how badly hit many people in Kaiapoi were, Mr Withell thought he'd donate some of his produce to families who might be struggling to buy food. With a truck going north, he thought he'd cast about for a few more goods to take along.

What he hadn't counted on was the generosity of the people of this district.

Mr Withell put a small appeal out on Classic Hits, the Guardian joined in and between them, the two media let the district know. The response was immediate. Pantries were raided, people headed to supermarkets, cakes were baked and store cupboards emptied out. The foyers of the radio and newspaper offices became the busiest places in town.

Not only did individuals answer the call, so too did schools and workplaces, churches and social clubs. And people gave in quantity. Not content with just a tin of baked beans, most loaded up a grocery bag full of food.

The response has been so large that a second delivery is being planned for next weekend.

All of this says a lot about us as a community. We might have been badly shaken last weekend and it naturally took us a few days to dust ourselves off and get back on with life, but when we looked around and saw how badly many others in the region had fared, we were quick to answer the call for help.

Many during the past week have helped first hand with family and friends who have fled Christchurch. That's what you do for the people you care about.

This was a different kind of effort. It was an outpouring of support from one community to another, stranger to stranger, and it doesn't get much better than that.