KAILUA-KONA — While pallets of food and drink boxes stack The Food Basket warehouse nearly to its ceiling, the food bank’s struggle is not in food donations.
KAILUA-KONA — While pallets of food and drink boxes stack The Food Basket warehouse nearly to its ceiling, the food bank’s struggle is not in food donations.
The Food Basket continues to operate at a deficit budget as staff desperately work to provide its services to communities in the farther reaches of the island.
On Wednesday, En Young, executive director, said the food bank has been successful at soliciting food, but money is always a problem. The nonprofit organization needs funds to operate its trucks, continue to be certified with the Department of Health and pay basic operating cost bills.
“Opening another food bank is not feasible,” Young said. “It makes more sense to drive it out there on an as-needed bases.”
On Tuesday afternoon, David Haalilio, an employee at the nonprofit organization, gave West Hawaii Today a tour of its new facility at Uluwini Place. He said food donations have stabilized.
“We’re picking up an average of 10,000 pounds of food a week,” Haalilio said.
He added The Food Basket works with 50 different agencies and serves 2,000 families.
“We’re open to receive anything, but what we want the most is canned fruits and vegetables – they go a lot further,” Haalilio said.
The 86,000 pounds of food in the warehouse is from donations collected over the holidays. The next food drive is a national event, Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger, which takes place May 13.
The shelves and warehouse weren’t always abundantly stocked. Haalilio said a few years ago a story posted in West Hawaii Today talked about the low donations and need for food.
The community responded. Since then, Haalilio said, the warehouse and its shelves in Kailua-Kona have not suffered.
“It takes the community to feed one another,” Haalilio said.
The Food Basket moved to the Kailua-Kona location from Honalo Road in October. Since the relocation, Haalilio said, food donations have increased because the warehouse is closer to its partners and the public.
For more information about The Food Basket, visit www.hawaiifoodbasket.org.