KAILUA-KONA — Volunteers are needed next week in Kona and Hilo to help The Food Basket sort 37,000 pounds of nonperishable food collected during this year’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
KAILUA-KONA — Volunteers are needed next week in Kona and Hilo to help The Food Basket sort 37,000 pounds of nonperishable food collected during this year’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
At the Kona Warehouse, in Honalo, hands are sought to help sort through about 15,000 pounds while the Hilo Warehouse will need help organizing an estimated 22,000 pounds of donated goods, said Marshall Akamu, who oversees the Kona Warehouse, and Joann Abiley, who manages the Hilo Warehouse.
“If you have one hour whatever — anything helps out,” Akamu said. “We need the community to help us out because we need to get it done by the weekend of next week.”
The volunteers will help categorize the products, separating proteins from vegetables, and preparing the goods to be distributed to those in need. Individuals, groups and companies are welcome to take part in the effort. The Kona Warehouse is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. while the Hilo Warehouse is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The National Association of Letter Carriers 24th annual event was held May 14 with U.S. Postal Service employees picking up specially marked blue bags of nonperishable items donated by residents.
The food drive is the largest one-day food collection in the nation. The amount of food collected this year is still being tabulated, however, the association expects that this year’s food drive will exceed last year’s 71 million pounds of food collected.
To volunteer in Kona, call 322-1418 during business hours. To volunteer in Hilo, call Abiley at 933-6030.
“Even if we have just two extra hands that would be great,” Abiley said. “We have a ton of stuff.”