Hawaii Foodbank holding food drive on Wednesday
JAMM AQUINO / MAY 8
The Hawaii Foodbank is partnering with the Hawaii Farm Bureau, Hawaii Foodservice Alliance and Sysco Hawaii to provide about 4,000 food boxes Wednesday. Volunteer Monique Garcia dropped food donations into waiting vehicles earlier this month during a distribution at Leeward Community College.
The Hawaii Foodbank is holding another major food distribution at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Aloha Stadium.
It is the sixth of nine “Food for Hawai‘i’s ‘Ohana” events planned in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Food will be distributed for 4,000 households.
Participants should enter at Gate 3 on Kahuapaani Street and must arrive in a vehicle, with space clear for the food — no walk-ups. Also, the food bank requires a valid government-issued ID and completed Household Information Form for each household represented (an adult from each household represented must be present; three households maximum per vehicle).
The form and other information can be found at www.hawaiifoodbank.org/covid-oahu. Those who cannot access or print a form should bring a pen.
Four food partners — the Hawaii Farm Bureau, Hawaii Foodservice Alliance, Sysco Hawaii and an organization of Hawaii ranchers — will help provide about 4,000 food boxes.
These events are in addition to 200 drives that the food bank regularly participates in via partner agencies.
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The group’s mission to feed the needy is carried out with help from hundreds of volunteers and millions of dollars in corporate and personal donations and government funding.
CEO Ron Mizutani said the organization has bounced back from setbacks in March when its major fundraiser, Great Chefs Fight Hunger, was postponed, and then when multiple break-ins at the food bank forced the hiring of additional security.
Last month the organization received $1 million from the City and County of Honolulu, matching a donation from the Hawaii Resilience Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation.
At one of two distributions last week, the food bank gave away 210,000 pounds of food with the help of more than 250 volunteers. Many are themselves recipients of aid from the food bank or have been in the past, Mizutani said.
“We see the signs of things getting better, but efforts need to continue,” he said. “It’s very humbling to see the community coming together. It truly does take an army to do this, plus the money. When you hear the thank-yous and you see some of the people with tears, we understand the impact.”
