LIHUE — Nearly 13,000 people — including about 5,200 keiki and kupuna — on Kauai get food regularly through the Hawaii Foodbank Kauai Branch, said director Wes Perreira.
The Hawaii Foodbank will join a statewide effort to raise hunger awareness and collect food and funds from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at seven sites.
Volunteers, staff, and board members will be anchoring collections at the Princeville Center, Safeway stores in the Kauai Village and Hokulei Village, Walmart, and the Big Save stores in Koloa, Eleele, and Waimea. The collection sites will be clearly visible with specially-designed shirts, fishnets, and posters.
Perreira said the Kauai branch is still helping North Shore residents affected by last year’s flooding.
“This may be a surprise to some of you, but the relief and recovery efforts still continue through today,” Perreira said in an advisory board update.
They make weekly deliveries to the Wainiha-Haena areas using their mobile food pantry trailer. St. Williams Church, Church of the Pacific, and Kauai North Shore Pantry all share in supplying food, supplies, and labor needed to service the 80-plus families still in need.
So far, the Hawaii Foodbank Kauai Branch has supplied the flooding-affected families with 327,292 pounds of emergency and recovery supplies.
“We are committed to continuing this effort until the emergency proclamation is lifted, the highway reopened, and a sense of normalcy returns to these residents,” Perreira said.
The U.S. government partial shutdown in December added an additional 107 families that leaned on the food bank for help to get through the no-work period that ended in February.
The total distribution for the government shutdown is at 11,023 pounds, Perreira said.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
13,000 out of 70,000 on this island use Hawaii Foodbank Kauai Branch?
Next question: How many people on the island participate in SNAP / EBT cards? The same number?
Does anyone know if these types of “Food Banks” get Federal or State Funding of any kind, and if so, how much do those who control the “Food Bank” take in salary’s and benefits? Just curious. And as a side note, please tell us exactly how the “government shutdown” has resulted in over a hundred people being their continuous free food clients when our Islands are at full employment allowing everyone who wants a job to get a job? Do these Bank “clients” have to do any service or work for their food? How does it actually work? Someone told me those working at “Food Banks” can make over $5,000 per month. Is that true? Wouldn’t it be great if this worked 100% through donations from the public, no one was taking any salaries themselves, and it is all done without any “political” help? If so, where can I donate again?
wow this island is broke !! that many people going hungry ? sad….
I would suggest donating actual food (buy a bunch of rice at Costco and deliver it to the Food Bank for example), but would never write them a check;
sounds like the others making comments are on track too….