HONOLULU (KHON2) — Food insecurity is a growing issue in Hawaiʻi, and the impact of rising food costs, natural disasters and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are deepening this crisis.
As Brandi Saragossa, the Operations Director for Maui Food Bank, explained, the need for food assistance on Maui and neighbor islands has increased dramatically over the last several years.
What was once a relatively stable number of people seeking help has now ballooned and has created a challenge for local organizations working to ensure food security for the most vulnerable.
“Yeah, the need has definitely grown not just since the fires, but also with the cost of living,” Saragossa said. “Agencies are telling us their numbers have doubled, which makes a lot of sense because prior to the fires we would do 250,000 pounds of food a month distributed. Now we’re closer to 800,000.”
The increase in demand for food assistance has prompted Maui Food Bank, in particular, to ramp up its operations significantly.