Friday marked a special day for Jo Evans and Julie Gardner of Foto4Food as the pair rolled into the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank facility.
The pair’s weekly contribution amounted to $865 and 19 pounds of food that are added to the KIFB efforts at feeding people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had an 8 a.m. appointment before stopping here,” Evans said. “That donation put us over the $10,000 mark!”
Including the Friday contributions, Foto4Food celebrated more than $10,200, and more than 1,600 pounds of food over the 12 weeks the pair has stopped by to drop off their weekly collections.
Evans and Gardner started Foto4Food in April, shortly following the arrival of the novel coronavirus in Hawai‘i, to help promote food-sharing and reduce hunger during the unprecedented conditions brought on by COVID-19.
“Foto4Food is inteded to be set up as a public benefit for our community,” Evans said. “We would like to provide family and group portraits as an incentive for people and businesses to share what they can without having to leave their homes or places of business. Images done will be donated electronically to the participants as a mahalo for their donation.”
The donations are turned over to KIFB on Fridays, and this past Friday the KIFB’s Programs Manager Leona Perez touted a Foto 4 Food T-shirt because of the regular intervals of the pair’s visit to the KIFB warehouse.
“Monetary donations are amazing because they allow KIFB to purchase exactly what they need,” states the Foto4Food website. “We will gladly accept monetary donations in the form of a check made out directly to the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank.”
The pair claims no-contact and strict adherence to social-distancing guidelines during the photo shoot. Appointments are set up through visits to foto4food.org.
Kelvin Moniz, FIFB executive director, said he is impressed not only with the amount generated by the two photographer ladies, but the sustainability of the program from its beginnings during the trying times of COVID-19.
“We’re at $10,000, and rolling,” Evans said. “We’re going to keep it going.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
