Oahu canoe clubs are teaming up to generate food donations and distribute them in the Papakolea Hawaiian homestead on Sunday, with the goal of feeding 200 families, or 1,500 people, for a week.

Donna Kahakui, a paddler and coach who grew up in Papakolea, said canoe clubs that normally engage in intense competition during the summer are coming together to collect and distribute food donations at a time when Oahu food banks are overwhelmed during mass unemployment triggered by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Contributions including rice, oatmeal, pasta, pasta sauce, ramen, peanut butter and canned goods are encouraged, and will be accepted from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Papakolea basketball court. Volunteers will begin preparing the food for distribution at 10 a.m., and Papakolea families may line up starting at noon to receive the donations.

The food drive comes as the summer canoe racing season is on hold because of COVID-19. It is being organized with the Papakolea- based nonprofit group Kula No Na Po‘e Hawaii.

Some of the paddling teams involved include Lanikai Canoe Club, Hui Nalu Canoe Club, Kailua Canoe Club, Outrigger Canoe Club, Hui Lanikila, Healani, Keahiakahoe, Waikiki Surf Club, Team Maui Jim and Team Bradley, along with the Punahou School varsity girls water polo team.

“The need for food donations at this time is great; the goal of feeding 1,500 people for a week is huge. But together, as a paddling community, we are reaching our goal,” Kahakui said in a statement. “We are encouraging other groups in Hawaii to identify those in need and not to hesitate to organize efforts to help them.”