More than 100 workers at the company’s Wodonga plant put their hands up for a voluntary shift yesterday to produce more than $500,000 worth of dog food to be distributed to farmers in central NSW in coming days.

Close to 160,000 cans of dog food rolled off the production line in the volunteer effort.

General manager Barry O’Sullivan said there was no shortage of staff willing to pitch in with the one-off shift involving both office and production staff in addition to previous drought-relief fundraising efforts of around $750,000.

“It’s a really proud opportunity for our associates to put their effort into make a big contribution,” he said.

“We are over-subscribed which is fantastic.

“Everybody wants to have a go.

“There has been people onsite since 7am and will be here throughout the day doing a full production run.

“We are all about creating a better world for pets and this is a way of living our purpose, bringing it to life and making a real contribution.”

Mars local supply chain partners, O’Brien Transport Services, Linfox, Staughton Group, SCT Logistics, Abaris Printing and SGK also pitched to ensure there was no cost to farmers.

Wodonga site community lead Paul Matuschka said Foodbank NSW and Burrumbuttock Hay Runners were also playing an important role in the distribution effort.

“A lot of people who want to do their part to help out and this is one way we can give back to community,” he said.

“We all know people, who know people (affected by the drought).

“Helping out others like we would like to be helped out ourselves if we were in trouble is a good thing for us to do.”

Meanwhile, Federation Council has thanked service providers who took part in a recent drought support day held in Urana and Oaklands.

Mayor Pat Bourke said the initiative provided an opportunity for council representatives and service providers to talk to local farmers and gain a better understanding of the impact the drought and recent frost events have had.

“These are really important conversations to have because it means we are then better placed to support and advocate,” he said.