Mahalo for your support, during the shutdown and beyond.

While 1 in 3 Hawai‘i households were already experiencing food insecurity, the federal government shutdown put a strain on Hawai‘i’s already stretched-thin food support system. Thousands of federal employees, contractors and military personnel were left in uncertainty as paychecks were withheld for weeks, and SNAP recipients who depend on the program for consistent food access were suddenly left wondering when they’ll get their next meal.

Along with our network of hunger-relief partners, Hawai‘i Foodbank immediately jumped into action – sourcing additional food and recruiting more volunteer support to meet the growing need. Multiple large distributions and pop-ups were held across the island daily, each serving between 400 and 2,000 households.

Locations of these pop-up distributions included Aloha Stadium, Leeward Community College, Windward Community College, Ke‘ehi Lagoon Memorial Park, Tripler Army Medical Center, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Waipi‘o Soccer Complex, and more.

Amid the hardship, we still found hope.

We received an outpouring of community support: thousands of pounds of food donations, food drives held by businesses and schools, monetary donations, hundreds of volunteer shifts, and thousands of likes, comments and shares on our social media channels. Seeing what we can accomplish when the community shows up for one another is truly inspiring.

During the longest federal government shutdown in history, Hawai‘i Foodbank helped connect neighbors and families with food for nearly 3 million nourishing meals. Mahalo to all of our dedicated partners, donors and volunteers for supporting us through this difficult time. Hawai‘i Foodbank remains committed to ensuring everyone in our community has access to the safe, healthy food we all need to thrive. Our work is far from over, but we couldn’t have done it without you.

On behalf of Hawai‘i Foodbank and those we serve, mahalo.