NAWILIWILI — Marla Suga’s phone call came just in the nick of time, Wednesday. Kelvin Moniz, food operations director for the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank, said he was just about to order rice so the KIFB staff could produce the
NAWILIWILI — Marla Suga’s phone call came just in the nick of time, Wednesday.
Kelvin Moniz, food operations director for the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank, said he was just about to order rice so the KIFB staff could produce the “hapa” rice, or brown-white rice blend.
But Suga’s phone call changed all that when she informed him Pioneer Intl. was donating some rice, one of the most highly sought commodities for KIFB.
Suga arrived with her sister, Jill, also an employee of Pioneer, and Steve Kai, a supervisor with Pioneer, and 39 bags of white rice. The weight slip confirmed the load at more than 1,300 pounds.
The drive was prompted when Moniz paid a visit to Pioneer’s seed facility on the Westside. Suga said the company always tries to accommodate the needs of KIFB.
The KIFB relies on the community for quality, nonperishable, healthy food items, the KIFB website states.
Moniz said right now, the demand for food is such that supplies go out almost as fast as it arrives in the Nawiliwili food facility, which recently expanded to accommodate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
This creates a strain on trying to get food to the hungry people because the KIFB is between the Spring and Holiday food drives.
Contributions may be dropped off at KIFB’s warehouse located at 3285 Wa‘apa Rd. in Nawiliwili, Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Visit www.kauaifoodbank.org or call 246-3809 for more information.