NAWILIWILI — A line of waiting patrons greeted the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank staff on Wednesday when they opened the gates to their third weekly food distribution at the Nawiliwili warehouses.
“People come early,” said KIFB executive director Kelvin Moniz. “Earlier, they rushed the beverages as fast as we put them out in the parking lot. But early is good because it gets the traffic out of the way.”
As shoppers adjust to the Wednesday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. food distribution window, Moniz is pleased with the decision to host a weekly distribution that started three weeks ago. This compares with the previous “as needed” appointment-only food distribution.
“We start with about 50 pre-packed packages to start,” Moniz said. “We can always make more packages as the initial supply runs out.”
One of the leading reasons for making the adjustment is the economic uncertainty caused by the slowdown in visitors because of the current delta variant surge.
“This is not a good time for the hospitality industry,” said Kawai Gampon, who starting as the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank Programs Manager recently and was experiencing his first food distribution out of the Nawiliwili facility. “I came from the hospitality industry. After graduating from college in Oregon, I got a job in the hospitality industry before coming home right in the middle of COVID-19. I was able to get a job with a resort, but as the visitor arrivals slowed, my hours were cut.”
Kawai brings with him experience with food banks after getting started contributing food and money from his days in elementary school. His parents were supportive of his efforts and the legacy of the Gampon children contributing to the food bank continued with his sister who kept the help going after Kawai left the realm of keiki and entered the adult world, returning to the food bank as the KIFB Programs Manager.
“The recipients are lucky, today,” Moniz said. “We support the local farmers and have nice bananas that were brought in, the citrus is really good, and last night, someone dropped off a tub of fresh coconuts. The recipients are scoring big today.”
Moniz wants to remind people the every Wednesday distribution takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank warehouse in Nawiliwili.
“A lot of people are coming in and were not aware of this service,” Moniz said. “I guess it comes from not needing to needing. KIFB is also looking for sponsors to help with a larger community distribution after Halloween and just ahead of Thanksgiving and the holidays when food becomes an important part of being well. We just want people to know that we’re there for them when they need us.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
