LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s people gave 1,100 pounds of food Saturday during the Hawai‘i Foodbank, Kaua‘i Branch 24th annual food drive. “We had collection sites at six different locations and came out with exactly 1,100 pounds of food,” said Michelle Panoke,
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i’s people gave 1,100 pounds of food Saturday during the Hawai‘i Foodbank, Kaua‘i Branch 24th annual food drive.
“We had collection sites at six different locations and came out with exactly 1,100 pounds of food,” said Michelle Panoke, agency and administrative supervisor. “We haven’t received the dollar amount collected yet.”
Collection sites were set up at the Safeway Store, the Foodland store in Princeville, Walmart, the Times Big Save in Koloa and Waimea, and the Big Kmart store in Lihu‘e.
According to the new findings reported in “Hunger in America 2010,” 11,100 people on Kaua‘i, or nearly 18 percent of the island’s population, receive emergency food assistance through the Hawai‘i Foodbank system.
Of those people, 4,107 are children and 1,110 are seniors who reside on Kaua‘i.
The study also finds that 73 percent of client households served on Kaua‘i are food insecure, which means they do not always know where they will find their next meal.
Of the households surveyed, 66 percent include children.
The Hawai‘i Foodbank, Kaua‘i Branch is one of four which make up The Hawai‘i Foodbank network. The four food banks, including The Hawai‘i Foodbank on O‘ahu, The Food Basket on the Big Island, the Maui Food Bank, and the Hawai‘i Foodbank, Kaua‘i Branch, are the only food banks in the state certified by Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network.
The Hawai‘i Foodbank, Kaua‘i Branch, is a Kaua‘i United Way agency.
It is at 4241-A Hanahao Place in the Puhi Industrial Park. Call 482-2224 for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
