HCH file photo
OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“Food pantries or food distribution activities … these are essential services provided to those in need.” (Bishop Larry Silva, memo to the Diocese of Honolulu, March 28, 2020)
Thanks to the dedication of essential food workers on front lines across the state, local communities are being fed and nourished during this COVID-19 crisis. Here in our Diocese of Honolulu, Bishop Larry Silva’s March 28 directive identifying parish food pantries as essential ministries remains in full effect. Mahalo to all our food pantry volunteers who have generously offered time and service to keep their doors open during this pandemic out of care and concern for their hungry neighbors.
We also thank all who are continuing to be vigilant about protecting one another from the virus, while helping to feed those most in need. A large number of food pantry coordinators and volunteers are seniors who are vulnerable to infection and urged to shelter in place. We encourage all parishes to assess the age and health of their volunteers and to modify operations that allow for precautionary measures including masks and physical distancing. Several pantries distribute their food in a “drive-up/drive thru”-style to minimize exposure. It is critical that we continue to operate our food ministries in a safe and healthy way.
There are many parish food pantries in the diocese who are doing this in an inspiring way. For example, on Kauai, a husband and wife team at St. William Mission in Hanalei expanded their parish food ministry from Haena to St. Catherine Church in Kapaa thanks to transportation provided by the Hawaii Food Bank. This volunteer team is providing food to an area that encompasses more than a third of the Garden Island.
In Pahoa on the Big Island, many of the volunteers at Sacred Heart Parish food pantry are elderly, facing serious health challenges. Nevertheless, they maintain operations with a drive-up food distribution which includes fresh produce boxes on Friday. They will soon restart their keiki food backpack program in which the parish youth group serves kids at the public elementary school across from the church.
On Oahu, the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa, St. Jude, Sts. Peter and Paul, Sacred Heart in Waianae, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. John the Baptist parishes continued their senior food box distribution with the help of volunteers recruited by the Hawaii Food Bank, a parish Boy Scout troop, and young adults assisting the Kupuna Needs Project.
For up-to-date information on all parish food pantries currently in operation, please visit the Office for Social Ministry website (officeforsocialministry.org/wp-content/uploads/2-Food-Pantries-Diocese-July-10.pdf) for a full list by vicariate, along with schedules of distribution dates, times and addresses and contact information to make it easy to share with others in need. Many pantries are member agencies of their island food banks and some participate in Senior Food Box, a USDA Commodity Supplemental Food Program facilitated by the Hawaii Food Bank (hawaiifoodbank.org).
Thankfully, there are many resources available to provide food support to Hawaii’s kupuna. The State Executive Office on Aging has compiled a list of agencies and non-profit organizations in every county providing food support because of the pandemic. Please see the Aging and Disability Resource Center COVID-19 SUPPLEMENT (hawaiiadrc.org) for a complete listing.
Some services may have lapsed or modified their schedules so, please, check first the corresponding websites of these agencies to ensure resources are still available. Visit these websites to do the following:
- Confirm where and when parishes pantries are providing food
- Support food pantries by volunteering and following safety guidelines as directed
- Donate directly to the food pantries and/or to the food banks they depend on
- Share information on resources responding to the pandemic with others in need.
God bless you all, including faithful parish food pantry volunteers providing essential services and witnessing to Jesus through nourishing the community as One Ohana.
Mahalo,
from your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
