HONOLULU – A celebration was held outside Honolulu Hale on Tuesday, May 21, marking the culmination of the City and State’s 2024 food drives. The Royal Hawaiian Band played while City and State workers loaded thousands of pounds of food donations into a Foodbank truck. A convoy composed of more than a dozen City and State vehicles transported the donations to the Hawaiʻi Foodbank, symbolic of the City and State’s unified effort to provide support to the Foodbank and to the people who rely on it for meals.
“Mahalo to our City team, our City Council, the State, and the entire community, who really got behind this effort and turned it into something meaningful,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “The thing about Hawaiʻi is that people just give and give from the goodness of their hearts. Sometimes they give when they don’t really have anything to give. I am both humbled and encouraged by that generosity and spirit, the selfless desire to take action because other people are hurting; there is simply nothing more powerful than that.”
“For 25 years, State employees have helped their communities by working with the Hawai’i Foodbank, which provides essential support to our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke. “The State is proud to partner with the City and County of Honolulu to assist the Hawai’i Foodbank and we look forward to next year’s collaboration to raise more awareness, funds, and meals.”
The donations that were transported to the Foodbank will be collected, weighed and processed over the next several days, and ultimately distributed to the community. The convoy was composed of vehicles from multiple City and State departments, including Honolulu Police Department, Department of Education, Honolulu Fire Department, University of Hawaiʻi, Honolulu Emergency Services Department, Department of Public Safety, Department of Transportation Services and more.
“We are so grateful for the continued support of the State of Hawai‘i Employees’ and the City and County of Honolulu Employees’ Food Drives – both of which are among Hawai‘i Foodbank’s first and longest standing coalitions. Over the last 25 years, their combined efforts have helped raise food and funds for more than 11.6 million meals,” said Amy Miller, president and CEO of Hawai‘i Foodbank. “This year’s support not only adds to that amazing total, but it also comes at an important time. Nearly 160,000 people have been turning to Hawai‘i Foodbank for help each month, and we are working hard to provide them with consistent access to safe and healthy food. It is through the support of our community and countless, generous partners like the State of Hawai‘i and the City and County of Honolulu that we are able to continue doing the work we do.”
The City relaunched its food drive for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating its commitment to helping address the serious and pervasive issue of hunger within our communities. Satellite City Halls around Oʻahu also accepted donations from the public. The City and State teamed up this year to encourage their employees and the public to participate in in this year’s food drives.
