Kaua‘i Beach Resort delivers drive-thru food

NUKOLI‘I — Kaua‘i Beach Resort general manager Robert “Mick” Minicola greeted each car, Wednesday, compliant with COVID-19 rules of having a face mask on, and not making contact.

“We’re still here,” Minicola said. “We have essential workers staying here, and with the relaxation of rules on swimming pool, there are a lot of kids — all from the same family — having fun in the water. We’re just not at 100 percent, yet.”

Minicola was joined by members of the Nukoli‘i resort’s leadership team, including Executive Chef Mark Arriola who created brownies for all the volunteers, in addition to the more than 100 associates who have been laid off during the closures resulting from the pandemic.

The leadership team was joined by volunteers from the Rotary Club of Kapa‘a, the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i that made short work of preparing the grocery packages for the furloughed employees, and the East Kaua‘i Lions Club who assembled the perishable food packages that included hamburger, eggs, and milk.

Everything was deposited the associate’s vehicle in a drive-through format with no contact between the associate or the volunteer placing the packages created with the assistance of the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank.

Kelvin Moniz, the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank executive director, said the next big food drive distribution comes Saturday when the County of Kaua‘i works with both the KIFB and the Hawai‘i Foodbank, Kaua‘i Branch in distributing a budgeted 500 food packages to the North Shore at Waipa.

The distribution starts at 2 p.m., and people looking to receive the packages can start lining up from noon.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.