Starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, Honolulu city officials will distribute food to as many as 3,500 families who have been impacted by the pandemic. The Hawaii Foodbank held an online registration for the upcoming food distribution event, and city officials say all available slots have been filled.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell says the city has come a long way since its first distribution event, held back in April at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex.
Months later, businesses and community activists across the island are still reaching out to ask how they can help, Caldwell said.
“There are folks in our community, the private sector, just individuals in various industries who approached me and said ‘we want to help,’ Caldwell said during a Wednesday press conference. “They raised $235,000.”
Caldwell said the Foodbank will still have smaller community food drives, but larger-scale efforts may require more federal assistance, like the CARES act that expires at the end of this year.
“I do believe in the next Congress, and with the next president, President-elect Biden, that there will be a CARES 2, and with that will come more food distribution, which is absolutely necessary,” Caldwell said.
By Kristofel Abella
Ka Lā News staff writer
