Food bank delivers on the Westside

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

A kupuna out for her morning walk gets food from Zonta Club of Kaua‘i’s Lori Benkert and Lynnell Woodward Saturday during the drive-thru food distribution in the Thrifty Mart parking lot in Kaumakani.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Lynnell Woodward of the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i loads groceries into the back of a pickup truck Saturday during the drive-thru food distribution in the Thrifty Mart parking lot in Kaumakani.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Carmencity Erice waits for her ride with the food she received at the drive-thru food distribution Saturday in the Thrifty Mart parking lot in Kaumakani.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Lori Benkert, the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i president, and Lynnell Woodward, the club’s newest member, load groceries into the back of a pickup truck Saturday during the drive-thru food distribution in the Thrifty Mart parking lot.
Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

A rainbow blossoms in the Kaumakani sky Saturday while County Councilmember Bernard Carvalho Jr. guides the line of cars arriving for the drive-thru food distribution in the Thrifty Mart parking lot.

KAUMAKANI — Regina Carvalho said her husband, former Mayor and current County Councilmember Bernard Carvalho Jr., woke her up early Saturday morning.

“Bernard always gets up early,” Regina Carvalho said. “It’s Saturday. I want to get up with the alarm, not before then.”

Bernard and Regina Carvalho were volunteering with the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank, which partnered with the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i to host a drive-thru food distribution in the Thrifty Mart parking lot in Kaumakani.

Kelvin Moniz, KIFB executive director, said it has been several months since the big food distributions were pulled back in favor of preparing emergency food packages and refocusing on food-pantry programs. The eviction moratorium ended, and other government-relief programs are quickly coming to an end, meaning resources will be stretched thin, he said.

Based on data derived from the food bank’s After School Keiki Cafe and Backpack Program, the KIFB partnered with the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i to host more than 350 family meal packages, including deliveries to home-bound residents and families, Saturday in a drive-thru format.

“This is going to be special,” Moniz said. “The Labor Day weekend is coming up, and families are always going out to the beach, camping and other gatherings. We can’t do all that this year because of the uptick in new COVID-19 case counts, so the next best thing is we’re theming the package for Labor Day with some of the food people celebrate with so they can celebrate in the safety of their own homes.”

The KIFB received a lot of support from its vendors to make this distribution happen, geared for families from Kalaheo westward to Kekaha.

“Wailua Meat Company donated half of the meat going out today,” Moniz said. “Pepsi came up with the water being distributed, and farmer Justin Fune gave us really good deals on the fruits and sweet potatoes.”

Manpower stemmed from the KIFB staff, board members and the Zonta Club of Kaua‘i, who didn’t miss a beat despite the long line of cars snaking downward on the main road through the Kaumakani camp.

The KIFB currently offers two days — Tuesdays and Thursdays — for emergency food pickups at the Nawiliwili warehouse.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.

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