KHON2: Hundreds gather for West Oahu food distribution
Many in West Oahu are still struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Lowell, even with needs as simple as food.
Cars lined up at the Waianae Boat Harbor parking lot on Wednesday for ʻElepaio Social Services’ disaster relief food distribution event.
“When the storm happened, as soon as the road started opening up, we realized that we needed to quickly put on a food distribution because so many of our community members had lost power for over 24 hours,” said ʻElepaio Executive Director Alicia Higa.
People lost pounds of food that spoiled in the outages.
“Food that I did buy, the things got damaged,” said West Oahu resident Rulene DeGrandis. “So, I had to throw a lot out.”
From the Kona Lows to Hurricane Lala, Hurricane Lowell is not the first natural disaster to wreak devastation this year.
“We have mastered knowing that in chaos, where can we find calmness, and what can what stability can we bring to the community? And food is always the first thing,” said State Rep. Darius Kila. “Food is medicine. Food is community.”
Higa explained that legislators like Kila helped secure the lot permit, which typically requires a lengthier approval process.
With the help of partners like the Hawaii Food Bank and the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, enough food was supplied to serve the 500 households who registered, and more.
“I’m just so grateful,” emphasized DeGrandis. “It’s been rough these past months. I take care of my aunty with dementia, so I just need extra help for her. So I really, really truly blessed to have you guys out here. Thank you guys for your wonderful service.”
ʻElepaio used some of its funding to purchase fresh produce from local farmers.
“By intentionally spending our money in the community first, especially with our farmers, that is helping us with our own emergency preparedness by putting more food in the ground,” said Higa.
Considering multigenerational households and residents picking up food for their neighbors, Higa estimates that they were able to help feed over 3,000 people.
Since ʻElepaio has what Higa describes as a “small but mighty” team of 16 staff members, the event was largely made possible by volunteers, including local youth.
“It’s great over here, I mean, giving back to people like this, giving back to my community,” said ʻElepaio intern Kahiau Akana.
Papahana o Kaiona student volunteer Brad Park added, “I love putting smiles on my community’s faces. That’s one of my favorite parts is saying aloha and just giving aloha to them.”