HECO crew restores power at Giving Tree food pantry

The state’s largest charity food outlet is back with full power after Hawaiian Electric Co. stepped in Friday to prevent the pantry from going dark.

"Right now we are fully operational," said Charlie Lorenz, executive director of the Giving Tree in Kakaako. "Our refrigerators are up, our freezers are up. Everything we need electricity for we have right now."

On Wednesday the Giving Tree was running on a failing gas generator that forced the pantry to dim the lights and shut off its refrigeration units just to stay open for the hungry. The pantry couldn’t distribute meats, milk, eggs and other perishables without its walk-in freezer and three refrigerators in operation.

Giving Tree officials were worried that the generator would fail before they could raise $5,000, half of the $10,000 needed for installation of a new electrical meter. Without the generator, the pantry would have been forced to distribute food from its loading dock, reducing its output by about 80 percent and limiting the food selection to dry goods and no produce.

After a Star-Advertiser story Thursday, scores of people made calls to the Giving Tree, some wanting to volunteer or donate but many looking for help because they were hungry, Lorenz said.

One man who was laid off with three kids and a wife working part time called after seeing the story and picked up food that day.

"He was so grateful," Lorenz said.

Last year the Giving Tree distributed more than a million pounds of food to about 25,000 people, including 15,000 children, at its grocery store-style pantry at 615 Keawe St.

While food pantries operate on the island, many can accommodate people only once a month or even less frequently, Lorenz said. The Giving Tree allows people to pick up groceries for free once a week.

A shared electric meter was the cause of the electrical problem. Power was cut off after another tenant in the same building stopped paying its share of the bill, and the pantry began using the generator to stay open about two weeks ago.

Lorenz said HECO employees arrived after the story ran Thursday and begin looking for a way to reconnect the meter, but found the electrical wires had already been cut. A larger crew returned Friday with two trucks with lift buckets and got the power working.

"They went way above and beyond," Lorenz said. "There was a lot of man-hours, big trucks, a lot of wiring."

The Giving Tree no longer needs a new electric meter, but its electrician still has to cut the other tenant out of the meter’s circuit, Lorenz said. Donations that came in Friday, including $250 received by mail, will help with those costs.

HECO spokesman Darren Pai said HECO stepped in because the Giving Tree performs an important public service.

"We want to support their efforts to help hungry families in our community," he said.

Visit www.givingtreehawaii.com for more information.