While normally notificaton of receipt of nearly $400,000 in federal funds would be cause for great celebration, that is not the case at the Kauai Food Bank. The $378,000 for continuation of the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is solely
While normally notificaton of receipt of nearly $400,000 in federal funds would be cause for great celebration, that is not the case at the Kauai Food Bank.
The $378,000 for continuation of the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is solely for purchase of food, leaving food bank leaders and volunteers to continue fund-raising for the costs of storage, transportation, refrigeration, program administration, and other aspects of the program, said Judy Lenthall, Kauai Food Bank executive director.
And the results so far of the agency’s annual spring food and fund drive, set to end this Friday, April 30, have not been heartening, she said.
With goals of raising $20,000 and 20,000 pounds of food, as of Tuesday food bank officials had received just $10,771 and 12,101 pounds of food, Lenthall said.
Not one to look a gift grant in the mouth, though, Lenthall and staff will take the federal funds, designated to provide locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables to low-income senior citizens on the island.
The money flows from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Office of Community Assistance in the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and then to the food bank.
Some 1,300 Kauaians age 60 and over got 268,000 pounds of free produce through the program last year. The most-popular items were bananas, bean sprouts, papayas and sweet potatoes.
Other produce among the 31 types included lettuce, avocado, corn, cucumber, tomato and watermelon.
Single seniors with incomes under $16,050 qualify, as do couples with annual income under $21,540, Lenthall said.
Applications are available at the Kauai Food Bank warehouse and offices in Nawiliwili, or at the County of Kaua‘i Agency on Elderly Affairs in the Offices of Community Assistance in the Lihu‘e Civic Center’s Mo‘ikeha Building (round building).
Produce is delivered to the island’s senior centers (most county neighborhood centers) weekly, and seniors are responsible for arranging their own pickup, she said.
Kaua‘i growers who produce Grade A fruits and vegetables and wish to participate in the program should call David Kalahiki or Kelvin Moniz at the Kauai Food Bank, 246-3809.
The federal program, which also has a component on the Big Island, aims to improve the nutrition of low-income seniors, said U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Neighbor Islands-rural O‘ahu.
“The program has provided fresh fruits and vegetables — all grown in Hawai‘i — to improve the nutrition of low-income seniors who are at least 60 years old and meet federal poverty guidelines,” said Case, a member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.
“In addition to promoting better nutrition among our seniors, this program also creates opportunities for local farmers by increasing the demand for their products,” Case continued.
The Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, called the “Senior Produce Program” on Kaua‘i, is expected to serve around 600,000 low-income seniors and involve more than 11,000 farmers across the country, Case concluded.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
