FEEDING THE HUNGRY

WHO WE ARE

Each week in Hawaii, thousands of families, seniors, immigrants, mentally challenged shut-in’s, veterans and more recently furloughed individuals are going hungry. Cutbacks, increased unemployment, and laid off workers are just a few reasons for the continuously growing numbers of people coming to Feeding The Hungry for food assistance. Each week teams of Surfing The Nations volunteers commit themselves to serving in the most impoverished communities on Oahu.

Established in 1998 ‘Feeding the Hungry (FTH) began with delivering food boxes to seven families living in Kalihi. Today, the FTH-Kalihi distribution has grown to over 2,000 people weekly. FTH purchases thousands of pounds of food, distributes and delivers food boxes. Many of our recipients come from nearby public housing, senior care homes, or new immigrants that do not speak English. Coming from public housing, many families have at least one family member working usually at minimum wage and making barely enough to pay rent, utilities. Many have numerous family members with extended family in one household and crime, teen pregnancy, and the rate of high school dropouts are high. When Surfing the Nations provides food to last a week, we help to eliminate the stress that comes with financial distress.

WHO WE WORK WITH

Every Thursday afternoon FTH provides food boxes, the safe place for friends to gather while waiting, life skills classes, and once a month gently used clothing, toiletries, and household items.

With a growing homeless population living on the beaches of the Windward side of the island, the state began to use abandoned buildings to house veterans, mentally challenged and families needing shelter. In February of 2007, in an effort to help the homeless and working poor who would have to forgo a meal in order pay for another pressing need we began to serve in a new location surrounded by these shelters. Twice a month we serve food boxes to these who are making every attempt to move from homelessness to a home. The food we provide allows them to save some money and transition to a more permanent home. In this location we serve over 500 people a month and give approximately 20,000 pounds of food.

After the purchase of the property in Wahiawa, we made two bold moves. Our goal was to reach out to the communities we live and the surrounding area. This year we launched an outreach to the North Shore homeless community where many have been kicked out of other locations and end up living in their cars on the beach. A small team of Surfing The Nations volunteers will make a home cooked meal, pack donated clothing and desperately needed items and show up to hang out with the homeless for the day. Often it will involve teaching the children how to swim or playing ball but the idea is to bring compassion and love to those starving and needing a distraction from their plight.

NEEDS AND FUTURE PLANS

If you were to drive into Wahiawa you would enter over a bridge and surrounded by forest. Deep in this area are hidden pockets of homeless hiding out hoping daily that their makeshift home will not be raided by law enforcement or a community that views them as the stain of Wahiawa. Many are afraid to receive help or lack the required documents get additional resources. Help is limited for those that can’t or won’t help themselves but on Fridays we serve them a hot meal and we have begun to build trust. This progress is slow but passion to serve them and our community is great.

Our short-term goals are to grow FTH in one or two locations that need our help. In order to store food we would like to build a food pantry that can hold at 10,000 pounds of food. To be more efficient and to better meet the growing needs of this ministry, FTH long-term goals are to build a commercial kitchen, a center for distribution of food, a parking lot and storage facilities. To accomplish the needed changes, financial assistance from outside sources is a necessity. Currently we are a 100% volunteer organization but we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

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///LOCATIONS

You can see us volunteer at these locations.

Barbers Point
Kalihi
Wahiawa
North Shore