HANAPEPE — Rose Silva showed off the certificate Monday which allows the Kokua soup kitchen to resume meal preparation, along with the new aprons emblazoned with “The Salvation Army.” “Everything that was on the shelves have to be washed,” said
HANAPEPE — Rose Silva showed off the certificate Monday which allows the Kokua soup kitchen to resume meal preparation, along with the new aprons emblazoned with “The Salvation Army.”
“Everything that was on the shelves have to be washed,” said the Salvation Army, Hanapepe Corps Kokua Soup Kitchen manager. “There are still a few more pieces that need to arrive from the mainland, but we passed the inspection and we’re ready to go.”
The Salvation Army, Hanapepe Corps competed a two-month $130,000 renovation and expansion of the Westside’s Kokua soup kitchen.
“We’re having pumpkin soup,” Silva said. “Wednesday night we inform the patrons that starting Oct. 17 the kitchen resumes its normal schedule of dinners on Monday from 5 to 6 p.m., and lunches on Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to noon.”
Sweat Construction, a Kapaa-based operation, was the general contractor for the project which will ease meal preparations and provide more space for food donations. Included among the renovations are new appliances, including two convection ovens, a six-burner commercial stove, a steam table, a commercial dishwasher, and an ice maker.
“We were so lucky to get Craig Hayashi of the Salt Pond Country Store help us during the renovations,” Silva said.
Additional work expanded the cooking and pantry area by about 120 square feet, and added new countertops and commercial sinks.
“I like the granite counter,” Combs said. “I want to come back in 20 years and still see it serving meals.”
Combs said during the two months of renovation work, the kitchen continued to serve the community.
“The Kokua soup kitchen has made a difference to so many people over the years,” he said. “We know our community appreciates The Salvation Army’s continued reinvestment to do the most good for those who need it most.”
Combs said in 2015, the soup kitchen served more than 10,000 plates of food.
