Marcus Mariota’s foundation assists with meals for students

Marcus Mariota’s Motiv8 Foundation will join with other community entities in underwriting 1,000 grab-and-go meals a day beginning today for 43 school days at Kauluwela and Palolo Elementary Schools during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Until at least April 30, public school students 18 and younger may pick up breakfast from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to noon (excluding Good Friday), officials announced.

The program will be extended through the end of the school year on May 29 if necessary, depending on the state Department of Education’s school schedule.

Officials said prepared meals will be placed on tables outside the Kauluwela Elementary administration building and the Palolo Elementary cafeteria for students to pick up to avoid physical contact between volunteers and students.

The $125,000 project is a partnership of the Island Insurance Foundation, Motiv8 Foundation and Keith and Bonny Amemiya, who are spearheading the project.

“I’ve been very blessed to be put in a position to help and I think that is a responsibility of mine,” said Mariota, the newly signed Las Vegas Raiders quarterback. Mariota had hoped to be on hand but is training in California, where his agent is located.

“It is critical for all of us as members of this community to support our public school students in these difficult times,” said Tyler Tokioka, president of the Island Insurance Foundation. “By providing meals to these keiki, we hope parents can focus their attention on other aspects of their children’s well-being.”

“The COVID-19 crisis has changed our way of life, particularly our most vulnerable communities,” said Keith Amemiya, a member of the Jump Start Breakfast Advisory Board, a school breakfast task force led by First Lady Dawn Ige. “Students who don’t have the financial means or ability to travel outside their community should still have access to food every day.”

Meals will be prepared by ABC Stores and Bamboo Catering. Volunteers with the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders and others will distribute meals, with guidance from the DOE to ensure proper handling and safety. Three hundred breakfasts and 300 lunches will be distributed each day at Kauluwela and 200 breakfasts and 200 lunches daily at Palolo.