LIHU‘E — Scores of people milked the shade of the eaves on Friday, as a respite from the increasing heat at the Salvation Army, Lihu‘e Corps, while they waited for the doors to open.
That was the scene that greeted Valerie Cooper and Ashley Ho‘okano, of the Kaua‘i Coffee Fair Trade Committee, who visited the Lihu‘e Corps and presented a check for $17,205. The check marked the last of six distributions from a total of about $120,000 that resulted through sales of Fair Trade Kaua‘i Coffee products.
The total is a combination of coffee sales from June through December of 2021, and all of 2022, Cooper said. The distribution was broken down to include recipients from Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity, Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank, the Boys and Girls Club of Hawai‘i-Kaua‘i, Kaua‘i United Way, Catholic Charities and The Salvation Army.
Recipients are selected through voting among members of the Fair Trade Committee that is made up of representatives from all sectors of Kaua‘i Coffee.
“This is exciting. Not only do we receive this very generous gift, today, we are serving our first lunches following the kitchen renovations,” said Major Eric Tumale, who along with his wife Major Jasiel Tumale, are in charge of the Lihu‘e Corps
“A lot of people have been asking for food, and only now we received a letter saying while we cannot do hot meals, we are able to serve cold lunches. We will let you know when we can finally resume hot meal service.”
That start date also marks the resumption of the full relief days when the Salvation Army is joined by other community partners, including Project Vision, Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i and a houseless coordinator from the Department of Education to offer a wide range of services to the Lihu‘e community.
Cooper was pleased to hear Major Jasiel’s announcement of “Breakfast with Jesus” starts on Sunday, which usually means coffee will be served.
The majors also reminded the community that cutoff for school supplies for both the Lihu‘e and Hanapepe Corps is Aug. 1, which means there are only a few days remaining for people to contribute to the needs of children and families heading back to school.
Major Eric said the Lihu‘e Corps has a list of about 20 families who need Back to School items because they missed the registration for an earlier event. Contributions have slowed from previous years, and currently, the Lihu‘e Corps has enough to supply just a few of the 20 backpacks that are needed.
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
