With demand for food on Maui soaring since the August wildfires, a Thanksgiving meal surely will be a welcome sight for the thousands who remain displaced by the disaster.
There seem to be plenty of free options this week, thanks to a cornucopia of food donations and volunteers.
“Lahaina’s a strong community, a resilient community. We like to take things in our own hands,” said Kanamu Balinbin, a volunteer at the Pohaku Park ‘Ohana distribution hub, which is serving a free hot Thanksgiving meal to about 150 people today.
“One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of food — to feed with no return, an act of love,” said Shawn Anderson, a coordinator at the hub north of Lahaina. “We want to continue that act of love.”
Over in Central Maui the small nonprofit Ka‘ehu on Tuesday distributed enough frozen turkeys and food boxes with assorted Thanksgiving trimmings to feed more than 200 people displaced by the fires.
An estimated 700 to 800 people forced from their homes by the Aug. 8 wildfires are temporarily living in and around Maui’s largest population center.
Keolamau Tengan, Ka‘ehu program manager, said the food, acquired with help from Native Hawaiian Philanthropy and the Living Pono Project, was intended for those who have the ability and means to prepare their own Thanksgiving meal.
Many of those who accepted the food appeared to be happy to get a taste of “normalcy” and “comfort” during the holiday, Tengan said.
“They were so grateful and appreciative,” he said.
Elsewhere, the Maui Food Bank has distributed 4,400 holiday food boxes leading into Thanksgiving, according to the nonprofit.
The food bank has seen an enormous spike in demand for food since the wildfires, which killed at least 100 people and destroyed more than 2,000 structures, many of them homes in Lahaina.
Prior to the fires, Maui Food Bank served about 17,000 people per month. In the months following the fires, the organization served 27,163 people in August, 30,577 in September and more than 40,000 in October and November. December is expected to be around the same, the nonprofit said.
Since the fires, Maui Food Bank has distributed 3.4 million pounds of food, including 500,000 pounds of fresh produce. By comparison, Maui Food Bank typically distributes 3.25 million pounds of food in an entire year, the organization said.
In the next few days, there will be a number of free Thanksgiving meal options on Maui, including the Veterans for Foreign Wars at VFW Post 3850, 1136 Uluniu Road in Kihei.
From now until Saturday, VFW members are on the island to provide disaster relief, hand out supplies, connect veterans with service officers to help with their claims, replace lost military records and provide veterans and others with a hot Thanksgiving meal at noon Thursday.
Free transportation is provided. Veterans should call 808-463-5850 or 808-446-5295 to get a ride.
Other Maui Thanksgiving meals include:
>> Harvest and Kumulani Chapel in Kapalua. The meal will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in The Barn, and donations of canned and nonperishable food will be collected for the Feed My Sheep mobile food distribution program.
>> The Salvation Army will hold a dine-in Community Thanksgiving Meal at the University of Hawaii Maui College in the Pa‘ina Build-ing today from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more information, call 808-871-6270 or email steven.howard@usw. salvationarmy.org.
As it does annually, The Salvation Army will hold Thanksgiving luncheons throughout the islands. The charity expects to serve 5,000 meals this week.
Oahu:
>> At the Blaisdell Center, the annual free Thanksgiving meal service will resume for about 2,000 guests in the Exhibition Hall on Thanksgiving Day. The 11 a.m. meal is open to everyone, with no tickets needed. For more details, visit thanksgiving hawaii.org.
>> In Kaneohe, pre-cooked meal boxes (to reheat) will be distributed on Thanksgiving Day at Hau‘ula Beach Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. For more information, call 808-383-9537 or email john.rodriguez-mercer@ usw.salvationarmy.org.
>> At the Kroc Center in Kapolei, hot meals will be available in person today for everyone on a first-come, first-served basis. Volunteers also will deliver about 800 prepared meals. For more information, call 808-682-5505.
Hawaii island:
>> In Hilo there will be a sit-down meal service at Auntie Sally’s, 799 Piilani St., on Thanksgiving Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For those unable to attend, an additional “grab-n-go” meal service will be provided at 2:30 p.m., hosted by the Hilo Lions Club, at The Salvation Army Hilo Temple Corps parking lot, 219 Ponahawai St. For more information, call 808-935-1277.
>> In Kona, prepared meals will be delivered to senior homes Thanksgiving Day beginning at 9 a.m. Additionally, a walk-up “grab- n-go” meal service will be held at Jackie Rey’s restaurant, 75-5995 Kuakini Highway, Kailua-Kona, beginning at 11 a.m. The meals are being provided through a partnership of Jackie Rey’s, Papa Kona’s Restaurant and the Salvation Army Kona Corps Advisory Board. For more information, call 808-326-2330.
>> In Honokaa, prepared meals will be delivered on Thanksgiving Day by noon. The meals will be delivered in Waikoloa by Waikoloa Community Church, in Waimea by Imiola Church and in Honokaa by the Salvation Army Honoka‘a Corps. For more information, call 808-775-7346.
Kauai:
>> In Hanapepe, meal service will be at the Hanapepe Corps today from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Prepared meals will be available for dine-in only this year. For details, contact jose.a.gonzalez @usw.salvationarmy.org.
>> In Lihue, “grab-n-go” meals will be distributed Thanksgiving Day from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or until 600 meals have been distributed at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall. For more information, call 808-245-2571.
