NAWILIWILI — B.J. Uegawa of the federal Transportation Security Administration is reminded of the disastrous situation that spawned the federal Department of Homeland Security. “It’s hard to watch the television footage of the recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey,” Uegawa said.
NAWILIWILI — B.J. Uegawa of the federal Transportation Security Administration is reminded of the disastrous situation that spawned the federal Department of Homeland Security.
“It’s hard to watch the television footage of the recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey,” Uegawa said. “It’s been 15 years that TSA has been here after rolling out on October 13.”
Uegawa was part of the TSA delegation that delivered 351 pounds of food collected as part of the Feds Unite Against Hunger food collection effort which started June 1 and ended in August.
The collection was delivered to the Kauai Independent Food Bank, which also saw its roots take hold in the face of disaster — Hurricane Iniki, which struck Kauai on Sept. 11, 1992.
“We’re grateful to TSA for its efforts at keeping children and families fed,” said Kelvin Moniz, KIFB executive director. “Children and families have a greater need of food during the summer when schools are not in session. These foods will be used to help with the Backpack program for keiki.”
Moniz said in addition to the “Feds’” contribution, KIFB has also received an outpouring of community support, including the Dine Out for Hunger one-day campaign where diners at 13 participating restaurants had a percentage of their food bills set aside for KIFB.
KIFB was also the beneficiary for the recent Kauai Coffee Celebrity Chef Cookoff for Charity at the Kauai County Farm Bureau Fair, where Chef Rey Montemayor of the Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club designated KIFB as the nonprofit recipient after winning the competition.
Leona Perez, KIFB programs manager, said people can help KIFB while earning rewards for themselves.
Zipline Eco is offering a promotion where residents can zipline for free with a contribution of 10 nonperishable canned goods through September.
“This was a highly successful campaign last year,” Perez said. “We finished with more than 6,000 pounds of food, making pickups several times a week.”
