LIHU‘E — What if you needed food but the pantry program ran out?
Michelle Panoke of the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i said that’s what happened when she and John Montemayor arrived at the Vidinha Stadium for the distribution of Commodity Supplemental Food Program senior food boxes.
“We tie in with the All Saints food distribution that takes place on the third Wednesday of the month,” Panoke said. “We have 64 boxes for seniors that are registered. They said they packed 80 bags, but ran out early.”
The alternative for those who arrived after the All Saints volunteers left was the emergency food distribution taking place in Nawiliwili at the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank.
“We’re waiting on the senior clients to come and get their food,” Panoke said. “Once a month, we have 64 boxes for this site.”
The Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i has an allocation of 238 CSFP senior food boxes each month that are distributed at more than a dozen sites across Kaua‘i, including Kapa‘a Missionary Church, Kapa‘a elderly housing, Hale Ho‘omalu and Kapa‘a Shopping Center in Kapa‘a; Rice Camp housing project, Lihu‘e Gardens Elderly apartments, Lihu‘e Court Townhomes and Vidinha Stadium in Lihu‘e; Kekaha Elderly housing project, Port Allen, Nana’s House in Waimea, St. William Church in Hanalei and Koa Makana.
“And that’s not everybody,” Panoke said. “There are still other places and locations that we need to register.”
For more information or to register for the CSFP senior food box program that provides a monthly box of quality, U.S. Department of Agriculture food to low-income kupuna, visit hawaiifoodbank.org/csfp/.
The senior food boxes are specifically designed to supplement needed resources of nutrients typically lacking in participants’ diets, and include cereal, juice, protein, milk, peanut butter, dry beans, potatoes, grains, rice, fruit, vegetables and cheese.
“September is (Feeding America) Hunger Action Month, and Friday is Hunger Action Day,” Panoke said. “We all wear orange because orange is the color of hunger.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
