LIHU‘E — Corteva Agriscience delivered more than $10,000 to both the Hawai‘i Foodbank Kaua‘i Branch and Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank last week.
“The amount includes $10,000 that Corteva approved earlier, $5,000 to each of the food banks,” said Laurie Yoshida of Corteva. “In addition, the Corteva employees raised $1,558 in funds and 3,338 pounds of food that were shared equally between the food banks.”
The delivery comes on the heels of Kekaha Food Relief 2021, where the Hawai‘i Foodbank and Corteva were among the partners in the effort spearheaded by E Ola Mau.
Tish Ruiz of the Hawai‘i Foodbank said the group will be undertaking an island-wide food drive in August, supplementing its virtual food drive on the website, hawaiifoodbank.org.
“From the days when we were known as Pioneer, we always had a mission to feed the island,” said Kristen Ma of Corteva. “Now we’re Corteva, and the first part of ‘Corteva’ — ‘Cor’ — stands for “heart.” We still have that same mission — help feed the island, with heart.”
KIFB Executive Director Kelvin Moniz said the proceeds from the Corteva Agriscience delivery and corporate award will help fuel their Backpack program that provides healthy food and snacks for keiki during weekends when there is no school.
“We have three participating schools in Kekaha alone,” Moniz said. “It’s only natural that we use this to help with the Backpack program for keiki.”
Corteva Agriscience, a part of Hawai‘i since 1968, is committed to being a good neighbor and contributing to the community, Yoshida said.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
