Maui Relief Update
Amy Miller
Recovery efforts continue, and Hawai‘i Foodbank is actively working to support our neighbors on Maui and our partners at Maui Food Bank.
Our hearts are with our Maui ‘ohana and everyone impacted by the devastating wildfires that swept across the island in August. Throughout the island, the wildfires have displaced thousands of families and drastically reduced their regular access to safe, nutritious food and other important resources. It’s a sobering reminder of how precarious the line between food security and hunger can be.
Disaster Response and Recovery on Maui
Following the wildfires, our partners at Maui Food Bank immediately sprang into action — providing food at several new distribution points and shelters, as well as sending out significantly more food through their regular network of agency partners. Food was also supplied to partners like Chef Hui, World Central Kitchen and Mercy Chefs to provide hot meals to those impacted by the wildfires and first responders. More than half a million pounds of food were distributed by Maui Food Bank in the first few weeks of response, alone.
The Maui Food Bank team is all safe and doing an incredible job rising to support the tremendous disaster-related needs across the island. At the same time, they are preparing for the long recovery ahead while also remaining committed to providing ongoing food assistance to those who were already struggling with hunger prior to the wildfires.
For families facing hunger, fresh produce is often one of the first things to fall off grocery lists — and this is especially true during disasters. To help, more than 1/4 million pounds of fresh produce have been shared with families and neighbors.
O‘ahu and Nationwide Support
At Hawai‘i Foodbank, we are actively working to support our neighbors on Maui. We are providing our partners at Maui Food Bank with remote and on-the-ground staff support — sending between two to six team members each week.
We are also working with local and national companies to source needed food items for Maui distribution while managing the tremendous amount of food donations provided locally and nationally. We have secured additional warehouse space to store all products donated for Maui, and we will continue to send regular shipments of food, depending on what is needed. More than a dozen containers have been received already, and another 40-plus containers are in the pipeline.
Our sister food banks across the continent have also stepped in with various forms of support. Feeding America, Central California Food Bank, Find Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Alameda County Community Food Bank, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, Second Harvest of the Greater Valley, Feeding San Diego, Food Bank of Santa Barbara County, Northern Illinois Food Bank, Second Harvest Silicon Valley, San Diego Food Bank, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Redwood Empire Food Bank, and others have generously provided emergency food donations, staff support and more. Additionally, other food banks like Central California Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Alameda County Community Food Bank, Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, Second Harvest of the Greater Valley, Feeding San Diego, and Food Lifeline have offered cross-docking services — an efficient logistics strategy that saves money, reduces shipping time and maintains freshness of food.
In addition to supporting Maui Food Bank, we are also partnering with Maui County to provide food and technical assistance for their Maui-facilitated distribution sites in Kahului and Kahana.These sites offer food, water and supplies to people who have been impacted by the wildfires.
Long-Term Recovery
As our partners on Maui actively work to assess the evolving needs, we are committed to providing them support while continuing to meet the nutritional needs of the 1 in 6 Hawai‘i residents struggling with hunger across the state.
We are embarking on a challenging journey towards recovery, and we want to express our sincere gratitude to the countless generous contributors who are making it possible for us to continue this vital mission — both now and in the days to come. Alongside our community, Hawai‘i Foodbank is committed to standing with our neighbors on Maui every step of the way.
