LIHU‘E — The gift was a little late, but coincided with a day of service, which ties in with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Penny Taketa, director of the ‘Ae Kamali‘i Preschool, located on Kress Street behind Lihu‘e Christian Church,
LIHU‘E — The gift was a little late, but coincided with a day of service, which ties in with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Penny Taketa, director of the ‘Ae Kamali‘i Preschool, located on Kress Street behind Lihu‘e Christian Church, said normally, they present food to the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank following Thanksgiving, but this year, the school was so busy, they opted to wait until after the break and tie in the presentation with the day of service theme.
Taketa and students from the preschool presented the KIFB with nearly 75 pounds of food, representing a collection from students’ families for the month of November. The food was presented in a singular large cardboard box dressed up to resemble a pilgrim turkey.
“Every bit helps,” said Kelvin Moniz, the food resources director for KIFB. “Right now, we’ve finished the holiday food drive and we’re ahead of the annual spring healthy food and fund drive, so everything coming in goes out.”
He said people can take advantage of the KIFB’s gleaning and Plant-a-Row programs to help without having to resort to buying food to help.
“There are a lot of tangerines and other citrus fruiting now,” Moniz said. “Under the general terms of the gleaning program, we can come out and help harvest the excess to help feed those who are needing help.”
Taketa was surprised to learn of the Plant-a-Row program because ‘Ae Kamali‘i has a strong gardening program in place so the children can learn to eat what they grow under the Farm to Preschool program headed by Tiana Kamen.
Moniz said generally, under the Plant-a-Row program, people planning their gardens plant an extra row of vegetables, which is committed to the KIFB.
The suggestion prompted Taketa to adjourn to the preschool’s kitchen, emerging with two bags of freshly-harvested lettuce garnished with some carrots.
“This is what we got from our garden and use to help with the students’ meals,” Taketa said. “This is the leftover, but it shows the students that they’re eating what they grew from seed.”
Visit www.kauaifoodbank.org or call Moniz at 246-3809 for more information.
