For the second year in a row, the Salvation Army’s Hawaiian and Pacific Islands division has scuttled its annual Honolulu Thanksgiving Day sit-down meal for 2,000 due to COVID-19 restrictions and replaced it with drive-thru and grab-and-go options.
In addition, traditional Thanksgiving meals and outreach planned at seven neighbor island corps on Hawaii, Kauai and Maui have been modified as well.
Meanwhile, some Salvation Army pantries are
running low on food as pandemic-related community need continues to tax the nonprofit.
“Our cupboards are almost empty,” said Salvation Army Maj. Eric Tumale of Kauluwela Mission Corps in Honolulu. “A consistent high demand for food has left us with a consistent shortage.”
Maj. Phil Lum, Salvation Army divisional commander, said demand for food and other services, including rental assistance, continues to increase across Hawaii.
“There are still a lot of families who are trying to make ends meet,” said Lum, adding that serving those who are suffering from “pandemic poverty” can be challenging and unpredictable.
As for the Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving week meal service, Hawaiian Electric Industries has stepped up to sponsor the effort this year. Mio Pastalogy restaurant is also providing 200 pasta meals for the Kaneohe distribution.
“Once again, with the generous help of corporate partners, volunteers, advisory boards, staff and Salvation Army officers, we’ve been able to shift our traditional Thanksgiving observances around the state to reach thousands of those in need,” Lum said.
Here is the Oahu
Thanksgiving week schedule:
>> On Thursday the Kauluwela Mission Corps, along with volunteers from the Salvation Army’s Echelon Hawaii, will deliver and distribute some 1,250 Thanksgiving bentos to those in need at various locations in Honolulu. Those who will receive meals have already been identified.
>> Today the Kaneohe Corps, 45-175 Waikalua Road, will hold a Thanksgiving-themed drive-thru food box distribution to those in need from 9 a.m. to noon, while supplies last. For more information, call 808-235-1408.
>> On Thursday the Kaneohe Corps will distribute 200 meals to those in need at the Kaneohe Corps between 11 a.m. and
1:30 p.m. An additional 300 meals will be distributed along the Windward Coast and North Shore via a partnership with Project Reach. For more information,
call the Salvation Army Kaneohe Corps at 808-235-1408.
>> The Salvation Army Kroc Center Hawaii in Ewa Beach will deliver approximately 1,000 Thanksgiving meals to seniors, veterans and homeless folks in West and Central Oahu this week as part of its “1,000 Blessings Campaign.” Those who will receive meals have already been identified. For more information, call 808-682-5505.
Now through Dec. 31, customers at all Foodland and Sack N Save stores in Hawaii will be able to make donations at checkout through Foodland’s “Share a Holiday Feast” program to help those less fortunate in Hawaii. Customers may donate cash, coins, Maika‘i points or My Rewards Certificates. Those donations will be turned into Foodland gift certificates and distributed by The Salvation Army to families in need on each island where the donations were received.
“We humbly ask the community for their continued support and encourage those in need of a meal to reach out to the Salvation Army Corps in their local community,” Lum said.
