FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Press Office: 768-5768
Food assistance program to newly unemployed will take place at Aloha Stadium and Leeward Community College this week
HONOLULU – A public-private partnership between the City and County of Honolulu, the Hawai‘i Foodbank, the Bank of Hawaii Foundation, and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation to provide food assistance to recently unemployed individuals will continue services at Aloha Stadium on Wednesday, May 6, and at Leeward Community College on Friday, May 8.
Wednesday’s food distribution at Aloha Stadium in Hālawa is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and will continue while supplies last. As part of the check-in process, individuals will be required to provide information regarding the household(s) represented in their vehicle.
Details on the Aloha Stadium food distribution is as follows:
- The Honolulu Police Department and traffic control will not allow vehicles to line up before 7 a.m. on Wednesday. All vehicles must enter through Gate 3 on Kahuapāʻani St. (across from Stadium Mall). No other gate will be open for food distribution.
- Multiple family pick-ups (two to three families per vehicle) are recommended, with an adult from each household present with an ID, and all orders will need to be picked up in a vehicle. Participants are asked to remain in their vehicles as volunteers do their best to follow CDC guidelines regarding social distancing.
- Before attending the distribution, individuals are asked to empty their vehicle’s back seat, trunk, hatchback, and/or tailgate to be prepared to receive food.
- For more information on Wednesday’s food distribution at Aloha Stadium, including a site map, please check here.
Information on Friday’s food distribution at Leeward Community College will be posted at http://www.hawaiifoodbank.org/.
“These food distributions are about coming together to bring hope and relief to thousands of O‘ahu families,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “By teaming up with our partners in the private sector, our aim is to ensure that everyone can feed their loved ones during this difficult time. A special mahalo to the Governor, his Administration, and Aloha Stadium Authority for working with us to make this distribution site possible.”
The public-private initiative was spurred by the unprecedented demand on food banks in Hawaiʻi due to the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on island families. With an economic downturn, closures and shorter business hours, and increased unemployment, demand for Hawai‘i Foodbank food assistance has increased nearly 60 percent and is expected to continue to rise.
“A key element as we navigate our way through this crisis is for government, nonprofits, and communities to come together to find solutions and implement them,” said Micah Kāne, president and CEO of Hawai‘i Community Foundation. “It’s amazing what we can accomplish through collaboration and resource-sharing.”
The City and County of Honolulu matched a $1 million donation from the Hawai‘i Resilience Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF) for COVID-19 relief efforts, bringing the total to $2 million for this effort. The funds will go to the Hawai‘i Foodbank to deploy food distributions at the new locations across O‘ahu. This will be in addition to the existing food distributions at 200 Hawai‘i Foodbank Partner Agencies island wide. To find a local food pantry or distribution site near you, click here.
Four food partners – Sysco Hawai‘i; Hawai‘i Foodservice Alliance; Hawai‘i Ranchers Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i Island, Maui and O‘ahu; and Hawai‘i Farm Bureau– will provide high-quality food products for an estimated 4,000 households at each distribution site. Several community partners, including Hawai‘i Counts 2020 Census, Child & Family Service, the Domestic Violence Action Center, the ILWU Local 142, UNITE HERE! Local 5, and the American Job Centers will also be on hand to provide valuable information to recipients.
—PAU—