The Food Basket, Inc. - Hawai'i Island's Food Bank

06/13/2026

Waikoloa, mark your calendars! We're teaming up with Abundant Life Ministries for a free Community Food Distribution on Thursday, June 18 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 noon at Hoʻoko Park (68-1730 Hoʻoko St.).

Dry food items will be available, including canned goods like soup, beans, tuna, and vegetables, plus rice, pasta, and cereals. No sign-up needed. Just come by! First come, first served while supplies last.

Even better: this distribution will be held every third Thursday of the month, so spread the word to friends and neighbors.

Questions? Call Abundant Life Ministries at (808) 883-9512.

06/11/2026

There's a mouse hole in our Executive Director's office wall. Someone plugged it with a bright orange plastic flower. A little color in a warehouse built around hunger.
That's where Kristin Frost Albrecht sat down to write about something bigger than any one office. On Hawaii Island, 43 percent of residents and 62 percent of our keiki struggle to stay fed. We import most of our food, so when the global supply chain shakes, we feel it first.
But she didn't stop at the problem. She wrote about what we're building. Hoʻolako, our food systems campus, whose name means "the place that provides." Seventh graders planting kalo next to a farmer who brought huli from his own land. The idea that food security starts in the soil beneath our feet, and with all of us.
Kristin's piece ran in Food Bank News, a national publication. We're proud to share it.

Read the full piece here: https://www.hawaiifoodbasket.org/news/on-hawaii-island-the-global-food-crisis-is-already-here

06/10/2026

In honor of King Kamehameha Day, our two warehouses will be closed on different days this week. Please plan ahead:
Hilo Warehouse: closed Thursday, June 11, 2026
Kona Warehouse: closed Friday, June 12, 2026
Both locations return to normal business hours after their closure day. If you need food assistance, you can find our partner agencies and distribution sites at hawaiifoodbasket.org.
Mahalo, and have a good holiday with your ʻohana.

06/09/2026

🌱 Something special is growing on Hawaiʻi Island.
We're proud to share our very first Farm to Kupuna program, also known as Food is Medicine. It started with students from Keaʻau High School, who planted and grew fresh produce with their own hands. From there, community members stepped in to lead cooking courses, and together we brought nourishing, locally grown meals to our kupuna.
This program is about connection as much as nutrition. Generations coming together, food grown close to home, and a simple truth at the heart of it all: good food is medicine.
Mahalo to the students, volunteers, and partners who made this possible. 💚
Watch the full story now 👇
https://youtu.be/N02M0_yLyLs

Meet Farm to Kupuna, also known as Food is Medicine, the newest pro...

05/27/2026

Mahalo, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda, for rolling up your sleeves with us yesterday.
Jill stopped by our Emergency food distribution and jumped right in, handing out food alongside our team and meeting the neighbors we serve face to face. It wasn't long, but it was real. Feeding Hawaii Island takes people willing to show up and do the work, and she did.

More than 60,000 people across this island count on The Food Basket. Days like yesterday, with help like hers, are how we get it done.

Thanks for being in it with us, Jill. Our door is always open.

05/21/2026

Our Summer 2026 issue of Hoʻomaona is here.

This edition looks back at what our Hawaiʻi Island community helped make possible in 2025, from food distribution and household support to local food investment and community partnerships.

Behind every number is a neighbor, a family, a farmer, a volunteer, a donor, and a community that continues to show up for one another.

Mahalo nui loa for helping nourish Hawaiʻi Island.

Read the full Hoʻomaona Summer 2026 Newsletter here: https://shorturl.at/iOk20

05/16/2026

Saturday, May 16. We're at Aloha Grown from 11 to 1 with , celebrating the collab in person. Shirts are on sale all month, in stores or online, and every one helps put food on tables across Hawaiʻi Island. Come through.

05/16/2026

Our Summer 2026 issue of Hoʻomaona is here.

This edition looks back on the impact made possible in 2025 through the compassion and generosity of our Hawaiʻi Island community.

Together, we helped provide nourishment, stability, and hope to families facing food insecurity and unexpected hardship.

Inside this issue:
• 2025 impact highlights
• Stories from across our community
• A look at how your support continues to make this work possible
• An invitation to help sustain this mission through monthly giving

Mahalo nui loa for standing with us and with our neighbors.

Read the full newsletter here: https://shorturl.at/iOk20

05/14/2026

Mahalo nui to everyone who made the NALC Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive a success on Saturday, May 9!
Thanks to your generosity, neighbors across Hawaiʻi Island will have more food on the table in the days and weeks ahead. We are so grateful to the partners who showed up in force:
NALC letter carriers, HGEA, HSTA, UPW, Lions Club, and every volunteer who gave their time, muscle, and aloha to sort, load, and deliver.
To our staff, our partners, and most of all our community: this drive only works because of you. Every can, every bag, every donation left on a doorstep came from a neighbor who cared enough to give.
Mahalo for helping us continue ending hunger on Hawaiʻi Island.

05/12/2026

Recovering from the Kona low storms? Help is available.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses, and nonprofits on Hawaiʻi Island whose property was damaged and not fully covered by insurance.
No payment is due and interest is 0% for the first year.
Apply online at sba.gov/disaster
We're sharing this because many in our community are still rebuilding, and every available resource matters. Mahalo to the SBA for partnering to spread the word.