Rangitikei mayor Andy Watson and district councillors put on their chef hats and manned the barbecue on Saturday to show appreciation to community volunteers.
Mr Watson said the flood recovery event at the Marton Memorial Hall was well attended, but the amount of food donated was so generous that there was plenty left over to donate to local marae.
"Local businesses have been incredibly generous with ANZCO, Farmland, New World and the District Monitor all donating food and Westpac Bank supplied the barbecues and helped with costs.
"It was great to have Sue Foley in attendance. She is a Martonian who now sits on the national board of Westpac Bank and it is great that she came home to lend her support."
Mr Watson said it was good to be able to donate food to Whangaehu and Kauangaroa marae where they had their own flood damage to contend with and hosted volunteers who came from outside the region. "It came at a good time for Kauangaroa because they are about to hold their annual trust meeting."
Central Government has provided funding for Enhanced Taskforce Green services to assist with clean-ups in Rangitikei and Mr Watson said residents can apply for help by visiting rangitikei.govt.nz