Matson commits $5 million to food bank networks in Hawaii, Guam, Alaska
COURTESY MATSON
Ron Mizutani, president and CEO of the Hawaii Foodbank, Laura Kay Rand, Hawaii Foodbank vice president and chief impact officer, Matt Cox, Matson chairman and CEO, Malcolm Inamine, Hawaii Foodbank vice president and chief operating officer, Tom Luiz, Hawaii Foodbank director of operations, Lillian Rodolfich, Hawaii Foodbank vice president and chief financial officer and Ku‘uhaku Park, Matson vice president of government and community affairs, pose for a photo at the Hawaii Foodbank.
Matson, Hawaii’s ocean cargo transportation firm, has committed $5 million in cash to food bank networks in Hawaii, Alaska and Guam.
Matson, in a news release today, said it will “provide the food banks with ocean shipping of food supplies at no cost for the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021, 2022, and 2023.”
“With the pandemic affecting incomes for so many, families in all of our communities are under extraordinary strain and food banks are struggling to keep up with the need. This is something we can do to help food banks put more of their funding toward sourcing food for distribution,” said Matt Cox, chairman and CEO of Matson, in a statement. “We are committed to helping meet community needs in the way we know best – by getting much needed basic sustenance supplies delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Hawaii Foodbank will be receiving support from Matson. The company said the food bank normally buys and imports 14 or so container loads of food supplies every year, but this year will need to important 107 containers and estimates it could need 150 containers in 2021 to meet community needs.
“The global pandemic has changed the face of hunger in Hawaii and thousands of people are needing food assistance for the first time in their lives,” Ron Mizutani, CEO of Hawaii Foodbank, said in a statement. “This support from Matson will help us immensely in our recovery and response at a time when our community needs it most.”
Matson operates three ship voyages per week from the the West Coast to Honolulu, two weekly barge connections to Maui and Hawaii island and three weekly connections to Kauai.
