HANAPEPE — The Hawaii Army National Guard partnered with the Hawaii Foodbank Kauai to distribute more than 200 food packages through the Kauai Malama Military Food Distribution to residents primarily living on the island’s Westside on Friday at the Hanapepe Armory.
MSG Celeste Lewis said many kapuna, including veterans, do not go out into the community to get food.
“This is the target market,” Lewis said. “I’m so happy we have a steady stream of people who can use the food.”
Tisha Remigio of the Hawaii Foodbank Kauai said the Friday food distribution, which was done in a drive-through format, is the last of the National Guard distributions for the state of Hawaii this cycle.
Inflation and other factors, such as the avian bird flu, keep raising food prices, and despite getting pay raises, people generally have a hard time keeping up and continue to try to balance family budgets.
Lewis said the distribution appreciates the donation of Waiakea water from the Big Island. The company brought the water to the airport, where it was loaded into a military aircraft and flown to Kauai for the food distribution. Other items in the food package included fresh produce, beverages, and an assortment of nonperishable food.
Remigio praised the efforts of volunteers from the National Guard, residents of Kekaha and the Westside, and even Rev. Darryl Kua of the Westside Christian Center, Assembly of God, who was selected as the Waimea Town Celebration Ambassador of Aloha on Wednesday night at the historic Waimea Theatre.
For those needing food assistance and missing out on the Kauai Malama Military food distribution, the Hawaii Foodbank Kauai lists an array of food pantry programs from Haena to Kekaha that provide emergency food assistance on almost any day of the week. Visit www.hawaiifoodbank.org/kauai/ for more information. Donations to help feed the people of Kauai are also gladly welcome on this website.
