The Pearl City community turned out on Saturday, April 20 with generous donations of much needed food items in support of the Hawaii Foodbank's 24th Annual Food Drive held at the Pearl City Shopping Center.
The Pearl City Shopping Center hosts the annual food drive event each year in support of the Hawaii Foodbank's efforts to collect food donations at several locations on Oahu during the annual food drive. All food and cash donations go directly to the Hawaii Foodbank to help feed Hawaii's needy.
Many volunteers representing the community and local businesses donated their time to help make the food drive a success.
"We're getting a great turnout, lots of people, it's a beautiful day and we love Pearl City!" said Connie Bennett, Director of Finance, Hawaii Foodbank and annual food drive coordinator. "Today we'll have about 200 to 220 volunteers, most of them in the morning and smaller in the afternoon. We're covering the corners at the shopping center and people have been great with a lot of food donations coming in. We're getting a lot of rice and boxed food donations, which is awesome. The drive is going really well. We're just glad to be here in Pearl City and we appreciate the support of the community and the support of the Pearl City Shopping Center. We've had great support from the First Hawaiian Bank folks here particularly from the Pearl City Branch. Don Quijote loaned us a fork lift. It's been a fun opportunity to get to meet people here in Pearl City and develop a relationship with them."
Several schools on Oahu conduct annual food drive competitions each year in support of the Hawaii Foodbank's efforts to feed the needy in their communities and other communities across the state.
"Last year we participated in the competition with the schools and won the small school division," said Gee Mee Ige, Teacher and Team Leader at American Renaissance Academy. "This year, we decided to participate and donate some staples that are listed that were important."
Mahalo to all the Pearl City residents, community organizations, schools, businesses, and volunteers who came through, once again, so that those less fortunate receive an opportunity to be nourished by the Hawaii Foodbank.
For more information and an update on how the Hawaii Foodbank reached their goal of collecting food and dollars to provide ONE MILLION MEALS for Hawaii's hungry, log on to the Hawaii Food Bank web site at: http://www.hawaiifoodbank.org.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Connie Bennett, Director of Finance, Hawaii Foodbank and annual food drive
coordinator, is pictured at the Hawaii Foodbank's drive-thru food donation area
located at the Pearl City Shopping Center near Kamehameha Highway.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Honolulu City Councilman and Pearl City Community Association Board Member
Breene Harimoto helps Gee Mee Ige from American Renaissance Academy
unload donated bags of rice and other food items on Saturday, April 20, 2013
at the Pearl City Shopping Center.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Duane was kept busy as donations of 25 lbs. bags of rice started to pile up in
the Hawaii Foodbank donations truck.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
24th Annual Hawaii Foodbank Food Drive volunteers pictured at the volunteer check-in station.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Volunteers also collected donations from motorists near the Pearl City Shopping
Center along Kamehameha Highway and on Waimano Home Road. A volunteer
is pictured here receiving a cash donation on Kamehameha Highway near the
Chevron Service Station.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
24th Annual Hawaii Foodbank Food Drive volunteers pose for a photo along
Kamehameha Highway near the Pearl City Shopping Center.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Volunteers pictured near the entrance to Long's Drugs located at the Pearl City
Shopping Center.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Volunteers representing the Pearl City Community Association, Mana Loa-Nimitz
Lions Club, and Pearl City Foundation, take a break for a photo in front of the
Hawaii Foodbank food donation truck.