LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s Ron Garrison was selected as one of the state’s 2022 Community Heroes, a program that recognizes residents who have exemplified outstanding leadership and volunteer service to their community.
This year, the office of state Rep. Nadine Nakamura sponsored an award to recognize a resident from House District 14 (Hanalei, Princeville, Kilauea, Anahola, Kapa‘a and Wailua).
Garrison, food pantry manager for the Ho‘okipa Kaua‘i Food Pantry, was nominated by Pastor Clyde Fujikawa.
Garrison is known for guiding the pantry through the expansion of facilities, products provided, service locations and families served. He helped ensure that the pantry never missed a distribution, and is involved with envisioning and implementing plans to have the pantry expand distributions in Princeville, Anahola and Wailua.
Garrison is an instrumental figure in serving the houseless and food insecure through Ho‘okipa Food Pantry operations, which now serves a food insecure community of up to 200 families and 500 individual family members from Wailua to Ha‘ena.
“In the midst of the pandemic, there were people who stepped up in amazing ways to feed the houseless and the food insecure,” Nakamura said. “Our community hero from Kaua‘i, Ron Garrison, was one of them. Ron has treated participants as neighbors and family, and has changed the character of charity from ‘giving’ to ‘sharing.’”
Garrison was recognized at a virtual award ceremony on April 16.
“Simplified, our job is providing food to the hungry. But it’s more,” Garrison said, accepting the award on behalf of the volunteers at the Ho‘okipa Kaua‘i Food Pantry. “What we are all doing is to help provide a living foundation so that folks have an opportunity to work on the other issues in their life.”
