Catholic Hawaii

The Office for Social Ministry
Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu

Our Mission:

1. To prevent the waste of all edible food in Hawaii County;
2. To feed the hungry with this salvaged food;
3. To educate the community about hunger in our County and what can be done to help with this growing problem.

What is the Hawaii Island Food Bank?

We are a non-profit organization that gathers, stores and redistributes surplus and salvaged food and non-food items via a network of 130+ member agencies which feed the hungry of Hawaii county.

Food is distributed from warehouses located in Hilo and Kona.

The Need is Real

Member agencies respond to an average of 8,000 requests for emergency food every month. In 1997 the Hawaii Island Food Bank distributed 1.3 million pounds of food to its dedicated member agencies.

Just think, all of this surplus food would have ended up in landfills instead of on the plates of hungry people!

Images of Hunger in Hawaii County

• A single mother skips dinner for the second night in a row so that there is enough food available for her two small children.
• A homeless person walks through town and searches through dumpsters and trash cans for his next meal.
• A father contemplates how to tell his wife and three children about being laid off from a job he has had for nine years.

How does the Hawaii Island Food Bank work in the Community?

Cost-Effectiveness

For every $1 received, the Hawaii Island Food Bank is able to provide $15 worth of food to its member agencies feeding those in need. How?

The Food Bank provides food with an average retail cost of $2.25 pound for $.l4/pound (a Shared Maintenance Contribution or SMC) to its agencies. This translates to a value of approximately $15. A little can go a long way to help our neighbors in need!

Community is the key to helping our neighbors in need

The hungry of Hawaii County continue to receive the most basic of needs-food thanks to broad-based community support from:

• Retailers
• Manufacturers
• Distributors
• Local businesses & schools, which hold food drives
• County of Hawaii
• State of Hawaii
• Hawaii Island United Way
• Churches of all faiths
• Local and national foundations
• Dedicated volunteers
• Generous individuals

Special Projects(To name just a few)

• Annual Statewide Food Drive
• Check-Out Hunger Campaign
• National Association of Letter Carriers' Food Drive
• Kaumana School Hydroponic Lettuce Project
• Senior Brown Bag Program
• Super Party Program

How you can help

Surplus food donations are always welcome, especially items which are in high demand: high-protein foods. These include canned meat, peanut butter, and dried beans.

Volunteers are integral to the Food Bank's operations. These important members of our team help with the salvaging and preparation of donated items and offer support at various Food Bank special events throughout the year.

Monetary donations. Every contribution ensures the hungry will remain fed.

To contact us

The Hawaii Island Food Bank is a project of the Office for Social Ministry (OSM) of the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii. It is affiliated with the Honolulu-based Hawaii Foodbank, is associated with Second Harvest, the national food bank network; and is a Hawaii Island United Way agency.