Foodbank: 1/3 of Hawaii households are still going hungry

A third of Hawaii households are still going hungry, according to a recent study by the Hawaii Foodbank.

There’s more alarming news and is hoping for your help.

Everyone is always busy at the Hawaii Foodbank headquarters in Mapunapuna.

“We collect donations that come in from the community, from retailers, stores and manufacturers,” said Danny Schlag, of Hawaii Foodbank. “They all come into the Foodbank, the warehouse and then our team works to source and go through all those donations and purchase products and get them back out to the community to those in need.”

A growing concern, the Foodbank says, its currently serving more than 153,000 people a month. That is as much as 2021, during the peak of the COVID pandemic. In 2019, the foodbank served about 81,000 people per month.

It believes the post-COVID recovery is just taking longer for some.

“That plus a variety of other factors,” said Schlag. “Inflation continues to be high. Those grocery prices are stubborn. For other folks. We’ve seen philantropy efforts kinda drop in the last few months.”

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Schlag says summer is a traditionally slower time for donations and volunteers. Public demand spikes somewhat because students aren’t in school.

“Really any way people can support, we’re super grateful for,” said Schlag. “Whatever means, whether it’s donating your time, your energy, your talents or your money, it goes a really long way to support those in need.”

The Hawaii Foodbank has 225 agency partners on Oahu and Kauai. They range from food pantries, churches, community groups and non-profits. Groups then distribute the food to those in need.

A recent study by the Foodbank found that one in three households in Hawaii does not know where their next meal is coming from. So do one in three children.

The goal is to get those numbers as low as possible.

“While we know that number, we may never reach zero, our main concern at the Foodbank is to provide equitable access across the board to all of our communities, regardless of what their situation is,” said Schlag. “We want to make sure people can access the safe and healthy food we all deserve.”