KAPA‘A — The only food pantry in Kapa‘a is now open and available at Kapa‘a Elementary School, courtesy of the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i branch, and will be adopted by Kapa‘a Missionary Church.
On Wednesday, HFBK provided two Husky shelves from The Home Depot, valued at $400 each, to the school, and distributed bags of food and snacks for the kids and staff at the school’s new pantry room.
Kapa‘a Elementary Vice Principal Kalei Arinaga is delighted to have the foodbank on campus.
“I think this is wonderful for our kids, because our kids come to school hungry, some with or without snacks, so if we can provide for them, then this is awesome,” Arinaga said.
According to HFBK, Kapa‘a Elementary School has about 900 students, 500 who qualify for the state’s free and reduced-price lunch program.
“We are hoping this pantry program can
assist with their learning ability so they are not worried about being hungry,” said HFBK Director Wes Perreira.
Perreira said the pantry program is designed to allow kids and staff to have snacks available to eat at school, and to take home bags of food to share with their families.
The program does not discriminate. Anyone, including staff or kids who are not in need, can also take some snacks or food. Those in Kapa‘a in need can call HFBK to inquire about their resources and many different programs.
“If there was a kid who was in need and he was friends with a student who isn’t, both can come to the pantry and receive snacks or a bag of food to take home,” said Perreira.
According to Perreira, the real benefit will be for low-income families. Pantries exist for adults, but this one puts the food right in the hands of the keiki.
HFBK Community Development Specialist Chyenne Beach was excited to be on her old stomping grounds, and gave her fourth-grade son a hug as he passed by the pantry.
“I’m excited to be a part of this, and know we are doing something great in this community,” said Beach. “It’s actually going to be distributed weekly. One cabinet has the bag of food that is going home once a week, and the other cabinet are snacks that will be accessible daily,” she said.
As the pantries were being filled, students and teachers passed by and were curious to see what was going on.
“I didn’t know that we have that now. I think its great,” teacher Elisabeth Dingus. “A lot of my kids come to school hungry and I have to provide snacks for them every day. This is nice, and is going to help out a lot of our kids,” Dingus said.
In the bags of food there are canned foods like beef ravioli and corn, and instant meals like macaroni and cheese.
If anyone in the Kapa‘a community is in need they can first call HFBK at 482-2224 to learn more about the school’s pantry and other different programs.
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Stephanie Shinno, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
