KAILUA-KONA — Thanks to generous support, thousands of pounds was donted to feed the hungry here on island.
KAILUA-KONA — Thanks to generous support, thousands of pounds was donated to feed the hungry here on island.
The Food Basket, Inc. – Hawaii Island’s Food Bank’s annual “Feed-A-Thon” raised over 73,000 pounds of food at five KTA Super Stores locations islandwide and at Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union locations during its 10-day span.
Tommy “Kahikina” Ching, longtime ambassador of The Food Basket, collected non-perishable food and monetary donations from Feb. 8-17 at five participating KTA Super Stores locations in Kailua-Kona, Waikoloa, Waimea, Puainako, and Keauhou. HCFCU paralleled the efforts by raising funds and collecting food at its locations.
This year’s “Feed-A-Thon” total of 73,579 pounds far surpassed last year’s event total of 38,348 pounds. Last year’s drive was cut short and impacted by the threat of severe storms.
“My Hunger Angel provided us with overall a very nice jump start, which gave a boost to the volume raised,” said Ching.
That anonymous donor kicked-off the drive with a donation of 11,156 pounds of food, which helped lead to one of the highest total volumes of food raised during the annual food drive in recent years. The community’s dollar-by-dollar and can-by-can heeded Ching’s infamous “one can if can” advice and raised over 62,000 pounds, which rounded out the total poundage.
“Mahalo to those that gave what they could and local businesses for continuing to support the annual drive,” Ching said. “When we all join hands, powerful things can happen.”
“Another year of the ‘Feed-A-Thon’ is in the books, and we are appreciative of the community’s continued support,” En Young, The Food Basket’s Executive Director, added in a press release. “This drive brings out a unique opportunity that allows us to connect with our community first-hand. It’s one of the unique aspects of a 10 day, island-wide drive.”
The Food Basket, along with Ching, wish to thank the gracious corporate supporters of the Feed-A-Thon, KTA Super Stores, Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union, and New West Broadcasting.
One in five Hawaii Island residents are served by The Food Basket through a network of nearly 100 partnering agencies islandwide. With one in three children in Hawaii County eligible for free or reduced school meals, and many families and kupuna facing high levels of food-insecurity, The Food Basket is in need of community support on an annual basis.