Hosted by Tina Downey and M.J. Joachim, I’m more than happy to be a part of their Holiday Food Drive BlogFest, and the idea is simple.
Share some details –
and promote the cause – of a
local food bank or organization that helps feed the poor in your area.
I’m focusing on The Hawaii Foodbank, and all
information (and pictures below) is derived from its website.
In May of 1983, John White’s vision of a local food bank became reality when, along with a single driver, Mr. White opened a small warehouse on Sand Island that became the Hawaii Foodbank, according to information on its “History” page.
All the equipment used was donated by local companies and
included two refrigerated containers, a flatbed truck and a three-ton forklift.
Although the Hawaii Foodbank had a humble beginning, by the
end of that first year of operation, 380,000 pounds of food had been distributed
through seventy-five member agencies. (For full details on the foodbank’s
history, click here.)
Mission Statement of the Hawaii
Foodbank:
The people of Hawaii are one ohana. The Hawaii Foodbank provides food so
that no one in our family goes hungry. We work to gather food and support from
our communities. We then distribute food through charitable agencies to those
in need. Our mission is from the heart, and we will fulfill our mission with
integrity, humanity and aloha."
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| During the annual Canstruction® event, teams from Hawaii’s best architecture firms, designers and engineers build structures using canned goods. |
Things They Do:
The Hawaii Foodbank in partnership with the food industry
and community serves as a link between charities and those in need of food
assistance. Our drivers collect food from supermarkets, distributors and
wholesalers and bring them to our warehouse for inspection and
sorting. Goods are then available for distribution to 250 charitable
agencies on Oahu to feed our hungry.
The Hawaii Foodbank network serves the elderly, families,
children and those facing financial crises each week. Hawaii's hungry are
people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, ages and economic status.
Recent Stats: Last year, the Hawaii Foodbank distributed over 11.8 million pounds of food. In addition, three million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables were distributed through the Hawaii Foodbank's Ohana Produce Program.
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| In only 7 years, Canstruction® has raised over 249,000 pounds of food to feed Hawaii's hungry. |
The Hawaii Foodbank is also a certified member of Feeding
America and operates as the official food bank in the State of Hawaii. To
distribute food to the neighbor islands, we work with three subsidiary
organizations: The Food Basket on the Big Island of Hawaii, the Maui
Community Food Bank, and the Hawaii Foodbank - Kauai Branch.
The Hawaii Foodbank collects and distributes many canned
goods. However, they also offer perishable items such as milk and dairy
products, eggs, beef, chicken and fish. All of these items are stored in
warehouse refrigerator and freezer units.
In addition, the Hawaii Foodbank distributes fresh fruits
and vegetables through the Ohana Produce Program visiting sites in several
areas of Oahu.
For general information, please visit The Hawaii Foodbank.
For information of the various ways to give, please click here.
To make a specific financial donation, please click here.
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PS: The BlogFest badge above was generously created and donated by our favorite digital
artist, the amazing Jeremy
of jmhdigital.
11 comments:
Hi Mark - so interesting to read the start up of your foodbank/s in Hawaii .. and the amounts they are able to give to those in need ... so they at least have sufficient food as often as possible.
Thinking about your fresh fruit and veg donations ... there are lots of apples in our hedgerows .. and we should be garnering those for use ...
Wonderful to read your post and find out Hawaii's news re feeding and helping the poverty stricken - Hilary
Captain America and a Minion - that is awesome!
They grew fast in seven years.
Love the altruistic nature of this post Mark. I love reading these things this time of year :)
What a great idea for a hop. :)
Did I ever tell you about us collecting food on Halloween one year? We placed fliers on the doors of the houses we planned to visit a couple weeks before the 31st, telling them we'd be collecting non-perishables for the local food pantry.
On Halloween, when we took the kids around door to door, we held up a flier and let them know we were the ones collecting food. I was amazed at the smiles and nice comments we got, not to mention the food. Most everyone had at least a can or two ready to hand over.
Great idea-- always a good idea to give to these organizations, holidays or not. Glad writers can unite in this way.
Wow, the sheer volume of their operation amazes me. They sound very efficient as well! Thanks for sharing this, and thanks for helping to advertise for Jeremy!
Tina @ Life is Good
Love that the did the minion. Captain America even gets a spot. I'm glad when the hungry are being fed anywhere in the world but Hawaii is definitely doing a great job.
Our local Boy Scouts just collected through our neighborhood. There are so many in our area but there is great need.
Sad and glad. Sad that the need is there - but so very glad that so many people are prepared to try and make the world a better, fairer place.
I'm simply amazed by how extensive the Hawaii Foodbank is, reaching out to other islands and being a member of Feeding America. The sheer numbers are phenomenal, and the fact that they provide produce and perishable items is positively wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing this post and participating in our blog hop. Your post is both informational and inspiring, Mark.
Feeding America is a great organization. I only seem to participate in food drives during the holidays, but I try to do other charitable things throughout the year.
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