Food Banks Go Hungry as Manufacturers ... - Hawaii Foodbank

Nourishing Body and Soul
Jade Moon
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Honolulu, HI
Permit No. 550
A
nother
food drive
come and
gone, and
although we
can claim
success, it’s
with the
knowledge that hunger is a persistent
and prowling menace. It can be eased, it
can be attacked, but it never will be truly
eradicated.
But what thousands of Hawaii good
Samaritans did on that hot Saturday in
April was incredible. Together, they
proved that the menace that threatens so
many of our ohana can be kept at bay—
through the collected effort and
generosity of people who care.
As I write this, I have the TV turned to a
newscast. The images on the screen run
the gamut from the tragic to the trivial.
There are 12 more American deaths in
Iraq, a hostage standoff in Illinois, the
space shuttle landing is delayed and, oh
yes, Paris Hilton is still in jail. Like I
said—tragic to trivial.
What’s not trivial is the way we deal with
the chaos in our personal lives. We keep
the monster at bay by providing safe
havens for our loved ones and our
friends. Every day in Hawaii people are
committing acts of kindness that far
outnumber the crimes we see
prominently featured on the nightly
newscast. The good deeds rarely generate
headlines, and when you think about it,
that’s okay. If good deeds become so rare
that they warrant news coverage, then
we’re really in trouble.
But sometimes the good is on such a
large scale that it does make the news.
The Hawaii Foodbank’s annual food
drive is an example. The sheer scale of
the undertaking and the huge response
by our citizens is a truly awesome thing.
For that one day, people from all walks
of life come together and generate
enough good will to radiate into the
cosmos. Okay, that sounds a bit new
“age-y,” but that’s what it looks like from
where I stand.
This year I traveled with Foodbank
President Dick Grimm to the collection
sites around Oahu. At every location I
was impressed with the enthusiasm of
the volunteers. They turn a project into a
party, and people who dropped by to
give a few dollars or bags of food were
clearly delighted to be able to help. And
help they did— this year we met and
exceeded our goals for food and cash.
I wish we could bottle that spirit and
aloha—we’d change the world.
www.hawaiifoodbank.org
HAWAII FOODBANK, INC.
2611 Kilihau Street
Honolulu, HI 96819