Four years ago, the group changed the way it collected items for the appeal, going from collecting clothes at the church to standing outside supermarkets to encourage more participation from the community.

"The amount of support has just grown over the years, it started with a bit of hesitation wondering how it might all happen but now the community has really got behind it," congregation member Robert Hookham said.

W Dick and Co Furniture Removals and Storage supplies 80 boxes for the appeal to try to fill over the course of the day.

"I think the heart of what we are trying to do is give the community members in town who have a great desire to care for others, give them an avenue and an opportunity to express that care and the flip side is there are a lot of people in town who need that care," Senior Minister Mark Smith said.

Minister Smith said the main focus of the Winter Appeal this year was the daily items that people tended to burn through quickly.

"The reality is clothes and blankets are great but they last for a long time so you don't have to constantly keep getting them in," he said.

He said that places such as Anglicare and St Vinnies meet those needs for getting blankets and clothes.

"When things are tight with electricity and heating, those bills start to pile up so it is hard to meet the basics," he said.

Minister Smith listed toilet paper, tooth brushes, tampons and paracetamol as just some of the most needed items they were looking for.

"We had someone share with us that when they had been going through a particularly difficult financial time, their kids were sick and they couldn't afford Panadol or cough medicine for them at the time and it was items like that, that really helped out," he said.

This year they would appreciate less wardrobe cleaning out and more giving from supermarket trolleys, Minister Smith said.

"The supermarkets have been great at allowing us to be there at the door as people come through, they can look at our flyers and see what we are collecting," he said.

"We have tried to make it simple for people, they don't have to track us down, we are coming to them."

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Distribution this year will be through the Anglicare store with their ongoing pantry where basics can met, as well as at the once a month Fresh Food days.

"We will also have hampers for people who come to us or Anglicare in need and we also have connections to people who we are aware of who are in need in different times," Minister Smith said.

"Some items will go out quickly and others will last for a while and will go out throughout the year."

Congregation member Nick McKinney spoke about the generosity of the community when filling the boxes.

"I would say most people are really generous on the day," he said.

On why this appeal was so important, Nick McKinney said that it was one way that the church was able to provide to people in need.

"It takes a lot of toothbrushes to fill a box and yet they cost a bit so that represents a lot of giving," Minister Smith said.

He said they operate on the model of God's love.

"He loved before we loved him, so it is about loving people not because they earned it or did something to deserve it," he said.

"Rather then waiting for people to say 'well you pick yourself up and then we will give you something' or 'you can pay us back later', no, no, no we just want to give you love because you need some love."

Minister Smith said he thought that a lot of people in town, whether they were Christian, church-goers or not, that they would be on board with that principle.

"Sometimes I think people want to do it but just don't know how and I suppose we are a place where people in need come to, people in need don't knock on everyone's door, but they do knock on ours," he said.

He said that there is something within us, the desire to give and be kind and this appeal gives that opportunity.

The Winter Appeal teams will be collecting donations from 8.30am-11.30am near the entrance to each of the major supermarkets (Aldi, Coles and Woolworths in Lithgow; Friendly Grocer and the newsagency in Wallerawang; and Portland Foodworks). Portland Foodworks will also be hosting a free barbecue.

"The supermarkets have been extremely supportive of the whole thing," Mr Hookham said.

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