“That’s almost 10 percent of our goal,” said Judy Lenthall, director for the Kaua‘i Food Bank, yesterday morning. Lenthall, Kelvin Moniz and Michelle Panoke arrived with a Kaua‘i Food Bank truck to collect the results of an internal food drive
“That’s almost 10 percent of our goal,” said Judy Lenthall, director for the Kaua‘i Food Bank, yesterday morning.
Lenthall, Kelvin Moniz and Michelle Panoke arrived with a Kaua‘i Food Bank truck to collect the results of an internal food drive conducted by Wilcox Memorial Hospital and Kauai Medical Clinic employees.
The drive added to the Kaua‘i Food Bank’s Annual Healthy Spring Food & Fund Drive with a whopping 3,549 pounds of food contributions, along with some cash donations as well which was amassed in the hospital’s lobby between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., yesterday.
According to a hospital press release, in the spirit of healthy competition, departments challenged each other to surpass last year’s 3,350 pounds, and with bags of food in hand, managers piled up their donations in the hospital conference room just as they have for the past three years to weigh in for this year’s results.
With less than 15 minutes remaining before the scheduled pickup, Jennifer Morishige was still 224 pounds short of last year’s total, but a final push by the Case Histories department pushed the overall total to more than 3,500 pounds.
“And that’s not counting the money we received,” Morishige said.
Of the grand total of 3,549 pounds of food, 893 pounds of that total was donated by three departments who combined forces to win first prize for the most pounds of food donated.
The perpetual trophy went to the winning department group of Security, Facilities & Maintenance, and Environmental Services, the group taking top honors for the third straight year.
The hospital’s food drive was coordinated by Val Medina, Women’s Health/Volunteer Services Coordinator.
Paul Douglass, chair of the Wilcox Hospital board of directors as well as vice president of the Kaua‘i Food Bank board of directors, was also on hand to thank the employees for their community service.
“Wilcox Health is amazing!” Lenthall said. “The Wilcox Health contribution is almost 10 percent of our entire Spring Food Drive goal!”
Moniz said tomorrow (Saturday) is a one-day push to help the spring drive as volunteers will be on hand at 10 locations around the island to collect food and monetary contributions.
Roland Sagum, Hawai‘i state representative, is one of those volunteers who will be manning a fishnet, Moniz said.
“Roland will be at Ishihara Market in Waimea from 10 to 11 a.m., and will move to the ‘Ele‘ele Big Save from noon,” Moniz said. “Locations at Wal-Mart, the Waipouli Foodland, Safeway and the Princeville Foodland will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The other locations will close at 5 p.m.”
The Kaua‘i Food Bank distributes about 50,000 pounds of food each month to respond to the approximately 5,000 requests for emergency food services.
Of these, almost half of those served are children and about 25 percent are elderly. The food bank collects food from the community, local grocers and farms and from off-island sources to serve about 51 charitable agencies that in turn feed their needy clients.
The Kaua‘i Food Bank is governed by an unpaid board of directors and Lenthall has been executive director of the organ-ization since 1995.
