100% Pure New Zealand Honey owner Steve Lyttle is donating 10 tonnes of honey to foodbanks and charities around the country.

A Timaru honey exporter has donated more than 10 tonnes of mānuka honey to charities across New Zealand.

Half of the donation will be given to The Salvation Army in South Canterbury, while the rest will be split between City Missions in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin.

"There's a lot of people struggling at the moment and the foodbanks are just desperate for food," 100% Pure New Zealand Honey owner Steve Lyttle said.

"They [foodbanks] are having to buy food now. We want to encourage people if they can donate, to do so."

READ MORE:

* South Canterbury foodbanks feeling strain of lockdown demand

* Mid and South Canterbury foodbanks to receive $104,900 per year, over three years

The honey, mixed with blueberries and held in 21,000 500-gram jars, is worth more than $500,000 in retail terms, Lyttle said.

The jars were originally packed for an export order but a "slight mistake" on the label saw the export rejected, he said.

"We had an option to melt it down and start over, but we've had a strong few years so we were in a position to make a donation.

"We're absolutely chuffed to be in this position because there's no better time to do it."

He said honey made for a good donation because it lasted a long time, boosted energy levels, and each jar offered 30 servings.

"A lot of people getting things from the foodbanks probably don't get products of this sort of quality on their plates."

Bejon Haswell/Stuff Steve Lyttle, of 100% Pure New Zealand Honey, said rather than melting it down and starting again - they had opted to donate the honey after the labelling error.

​Mainfreight would deliver the donations outside Timaru and had cut freight rates, he said.

"We've let The Salvation Army choose what quantities go to each region because they all have different levels of need."

Lyttle and his wife Caroline run the company which produces high value honey for markets principally in Asia, with a small number in North America.

"We're a small company with 10 staff," he said.

"On behalf of our team who work so hard, this is something we're quite pleased to do."

A spokeswoman for The Salvation Army said the honey donation meant they would be able to purchase additional spreads and other stock for their food parcels.

"We have seen a nearly doubling of the amount of food parcels distributed by our Salvation Army foodbanks throughout New Zealand since the Covid-19 lockdown began," she said.

"The rising numbers of people seeking help are indicative of the growing struggle of people to provide basics for their whanau.

"We are very grateful for the support of the New Zealand business community at a time like this, especially for this high quality product that will be a delicious and highly nutritious item in our food parcels across the country."