The Hawaii Foodbank: in the news

Here are some articles from the past two years about the HFB.

David, Mari-Ela. "Charities Struggle to feel the need." KHNLHD 10 Oct. 2008. WorldNow. 15 July 2009 <http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=9162862.>

October 10, 2008:
At this time in 2008, donations for the food bank had seen a major decline. Shelves once full with food were bare. Most likely an effect of the financial crisis and downward trend of the economy. The cost of living and layoffs increasing led to a decline in the amount of donations to the Foodbank, a decline in supply. However at the same time there was an increase in demand as new families, middle class people who had recently lost jobs, were turning to the Foodbank for help. The Hawaii Foodbank was down 4% in donations but up 8% in demand. The Foodbank relied on the generosity of the people of Hawaii to keep them running and serving the 250 agencies who relied on them during this time.

Au, Laurie. "Scramble to make ends meet begins at local food pantries." The Honolulu Star Bulletin 12 Dec. 2008. 15 July 2009. http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20081212_Scramble_to_make_ends_meet_begins_at_local_food_pantries.html#fullstory".

December 12, 2008:
Given the situation of the economy, with fewer jobs and higher prices, more and more people are showing up at the doors of Hawaii's non-profits.
The Foodbank's donations plunged from 2007 to 2008 by 200,000 pounds. They haven't had to turn families away, but they have given less food and food of lower quality. They've allocated $200,000 of their budget and more funding from the government to get more food.

Drewes, Paul. "Leftovers for the Hawaii Foodbank." KHNLHD 9 July 2009. WorldNow. 15 July 2009. http://www.khnl.com/global/story.asp?s=10673885.

July 9, 2009:
Daily distribution has gone from 34,000 pounds of food a day to 41,000, said Dick Grimm, President of the Hawaii Foodbank. But because the demand has increased, the shelves are emptier. The warehouse is full of 12-14 days worth of inventory rather than the normal 25-30 days worth of food.
They were just given a generous donation of $78,000, leftovers from a class action lawsuit against Lex Brodie's.
The money is going to be used to help fill up the Foodbank.