Meal program helps Windward Community College students succeed

Students just scraping by on scholarships at Windward Community College are being nourished by a free meal program that fortifies their ability to concentrate on their studies, and consequently, boosts their graduation rates.

Kupalokekuupualeihiwao­kekau “Love” Kamohalii said she appreciates Meals with a Mission tremendously, as she’s studying on campus at least 12 hours a day.

“I don’t have to worry about food or where my next meal is going to come from because I don’t have that much money to go out and buy food. I’m a first-generation student in my family, so I basically live off my scholarships and financial aid. Meals with a Mission gives us a chance and a hope that at least we will be educated and well nourished, and that helps us concentrate. I eat all my meals here; when I go home I don’t have to eat,” said Kamohalii.

Her close friend Alisha Kaluhiokalani, who also depends on several scholarships, said it saves her the time of making a trip off campus to pick up fast food. She said the food is really good and healthy, and the menu varies every day, offering a balanced meal as well as sandwiches. Having a free meal is extremely convenient and a boon to her budget, having a 2-year-old son to raise, she added.

They’ve benefited from the program since it was created in August 2020; the program so far has fed 150 students. The program is funded through grants from the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, matched by Professor Emerita Jacquie Maly. Additional donations were raised by the Windward Community College Ambassadors, a support group of alumni faculty, staff and students.

“Student hunger is a major problem,” Maly said. “Students who are food insecure or hungry have lower completion rates for college, lower retention rates, and lots of things that prevent their (graduation) and to rise economically.”

More than 50% of WCC students receive financial aid, SNAP benefits (food stamps) and scholarships to attend college. For the spring and fall semesters this year, Maly has been offering a challenge to the community where she will match donations to the meal program up to $10,000.

Maly, one of the original faculty who founded the college 49 years ago, said with a chuckle, “I have a maternal kind of connection with the college. Even though I retired in 1999, I’m still on the campus at least once a week. I was given the title of ‘emeritus,’ and we have a saying that it’s Latin for ‘she retired but she didn’t go away.’”

“I was very deeply enmeshed in the campus and still am,” she added. Before Meals with a Mission started, Maly made it a habit to fund a variety of charitable programs at the school as well as off-campus.

She founded a group called Hoopili of former faculty, staff and students, who volunteer for campus events as well as fundraisers. As a gift to the college, it paid for breakfast for the last two years for a convocation event. Maly regularly contributes to the student government’s food pantry and persuaded her American Association of University Women (AAUW) group to donate canned goods to it.

WCC Chancellor Ardis Eschenberg said the free meals are distributed through the TRiO Student Support Serv­ices center, which specifically services low-income and first-generation students, and those with disabilities.

“That way we reach the right students without adding stigma or shame. Also, as many lost work or had additional hardships during the pandemic, this allowed these students to participate. … Our goal is to overcome hunger and promote education without making people ashamed or defensive about their situation,” Eschenberg said in an e-mail.

Kaluhiokalani and Kamohalii called themselves “nontraditional students”; both are in their 40s, were formerly addicted to drugs and served prison terms just two years ago. Both are planning to become social workers with a focus on the Native Hawaiian community.

Kaluhiokalani, 42, said she started taking Hawaiian-­language classes while in prison, “where I found my purpose and what I wanted to do.” Her grandmother spoke in Hawaiian to her every now and then, and she remembers “my grandmother’s voice sounded so loving, and it brought back memories and made me passionate about connecting with my culture. It made me feel worthy. That’s why I want to target the Native ­Hawaiian community.”

Kamohalii was a high school dropout, but earned her General Educational Development (GED) certificate in prison. A counselor suggested Kamohalii go back to school because “I have a good brain.” When she started at Windward, she took classes to become a civil engineer, but she switched to social work when a recent death in the family made her realize her true calling was to help young kids from broken homes.

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How to help

To donate to Windward Community College’s Meals with a Mission program, visit 808ne.ws/mealswithamission, email ardise@hawaii.edu or call 235-7402.