Kaʻū News Briefs June 19, 2024

Deisha Davis checks in the recipient family for Kaukau 4 Keiki as Krystal Eder loads the food and Glenn Okumura and Tina Eder prepare for the next group at Pāhala Hongwanji. Photo by Julia Neal

 
KAUKAU 4 KEIKI'S FIRST DAY OF FOOD GIVEAWAYS launched at Volcano, Pāhala and Nāʻālehu on Wednesday with Ocean View beginning on Thursday.
      Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary School is running the Pāhala operation this year, led by Deisha Davis, with help from community volunteers. On Wednesday, Football Coach Conner Norton and players Zylin Loftus, Sefefano Aina, Dayton Keohuloa and Jeremy Felipe helped with the unloading of the trucks bringing food to Pāhala Hongwanji. Also helping were volunteers Glenn Okumura, Tina Eder, Krystal Eder, Chrysa Dacalio. Bridgette Kaleohano and Julia Neal. Also helping was a leader for a Wilderness Adventure group of high school girls who are learning and volunteering in Kaʻū this week.
    Fresh foods given out included apples, bananas, keiki greens, lettuce, carrots and celery. There is fresh frozen poi, when can be finished off in a microwave. Proteins include canned salmon, tuna, peanut butter and milk. Carbs included whole wheat bread and oatmeal.

A long lineup of cars from families of many incomes came for the free Kaukau 4 Keiki food on Wednesday. Photo by Julia Neal

    The offerings are designed to give keiki seven days of food for six weeks during the school break, as many students depend on school for daily nutrition. Kaukau 4 Keiki significantly increased the number of families served this summer over the number last year.
    Vibrant Hawai'i administers the Kaukau 4 Keiki program for the U.S. Department of Agriculture across the island for 5,000 recipients at 32 locations. All recipients registered ahead of time. Pickup times are  Wednesdays at Volcano School of the Arts & Sciences from noon to 3:30 p.m., at Pāhala Hongwanji from noon to 12:30 p.m., and at Nāʻālehu Resilience Hub from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The free food pick up at Ocean View is at St. Jude's Church on Thursdays from 11 a.m to 1 p.m.
    There is no selection of individual families by need. All of Kaʻū is considered low income and has free meals for all students during the school year. According to USDA guidelines, any family getting free meals when school is in session can apply to sign up for Kaukau 4 Keiki unless getting free USDA meals elsewhere during the summer break.
    Families who miss any two pick up days during the summer program will have their names removed and their food given to families on the waitlist. Those who don't arrive during the pickup time will also have their food given to families on the waitlist.
    The online application requires families to agree to "not receive summer meals from another USDA Summer Meal program, such as Summer Fun or DOE meal sites; this is considered 'double dipping' and is against USDA rules and regulations."

Wilderness Adventures volunteers, under the direction of Bert and Tina Eder, pull invasive glycine vines that were killing Norfolk pine trees at the entrance to Pāhala. Photo by Julia Neal