PRINCEVILLE — Nationwide food banks face their greatest need for donations during the summertime. The Kaua‘i Food Bank knows that hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation and in anticipation of the upcoming summer break, the food bank once again partnered with Foodland at Princeville and launched the ‘Project Keiki’ campaign back in April.
The results of the partnership surfaced on Friday, May, 31, when Foodland presented Kaua‘i Food Bank with a check for $902.88. The money translates into 1,941 meals that will be provided to keiki this summer.
“This is huge,” said Kaua‘i Food Bank Director Wes Pereira, “We can stretch our dollar and provide 2.1 meals per dollar, and $900 is a lot, with inflation and the difficulty of trying to live here on Kaua‘i, we know housing is through the roof and there is zero inventory, it’s such a struggle for folks but; this summer we can assist and help the community adjust their food budget,” he said.
The money raised will directly support two vital programs on the Garden Island that will provide students with summer food assistance.
The first program is with the County of Kaua‘i Summer Fun Program. ‘Project Keiki’ funds will contribute to feeding efforts at seven sites around the county that will reach a total of 393 children.
The second program is with Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i’s Food 4 Keiki School Pantry Program. Both King Kaumuali‘i Elementary and Kapa‘a Elementary, which participate in the pantry program, will continue to receive additional support for their summer schools, ensuring students continue to have access to healthy meals and snacks.
Also present at the check presentation was Kaua‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Assistant Director Tisha Remigio, who stressed the importance of the “Project Keiki” campaign.
“This generous support from ‘Project Keiki’ ensures that hundreds of keiki across Kaua‘i will have access to nutritious meals throughout the summer months, when access to food can be a challenge for some families,” she said.
In a deeper dive to understanding this complex issue that plagues Hawai‘i, the food bank spent the past year working to administer the statewide, “The State of Food Insecurity in Hawai‘i’ survey. A total of 911 Hawai‘i residents participated in the survey along with assistance from local researcher, Catherine Pirkle who analyzed the data.
“The study found that an estimated 30 percent of households in Hawai‘i are food insecure, and 29 percent of households with children had one or more children who were food insecure in 2023,” said Hawai‘i Foodbank President and CEO Amy Miller.
“While these numbers are quite high, it does make sense with inflation (food prices have gone up 25 percent since COVID) and our own service numbers are almost at the same levels we saw during the heights of COVID—we’re now serving an average of nearly 160,000 people across both (O‘ahu and Kaua‘i) islands.”
Statistically, there are 10,000 Kaua‘i residents that continue to struggle with hunger daily, this includes one in four keiki. Throughout the school year most students rely on school meals to assist them with daily meals however; the summer break leaves many children unsure of where their next meal will come from.
The Hawai‘i FoodBank wants all families to keep empowered and reminds residents that the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced earlier this year that Hawai‘i keiki now qualify for the $177 “Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer funds” through the federal SUN bucks grocery benefits program. SUN bucks will provide $2.5 billion in groceries to an estimated 21 million children nationwide this summer.
“We hate to hear that our kupuna and working families sometimes go without a meal, we want everyone across Hawai‘i to know that there are many different programs, we know many kids sometime only get their meals at school, some through the county, boys and girls club, but if there is still a need please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Kaua‘i Food Bank and we will make something happen for anyone in need of our services and or assistance,” Pereira said.
“We believe that in this modern world we shouldn’t have people going hungry. We truly appreciate everyone who joins us in the fight against hunger,” said Pereira.
For more information on “The State of Food Insecurity in Hawai‘i” survey or further information on food assistance on Kaua‘i, visit hawaiifoodbank.org.
