(KAHUKU, HAWAII) Every third Thursday of the month, the Kahuku Village Association Center is always busy.

Thanks to the ecumenical youth project Kualoa Heeia (also called the Key Project), a partner of the Hawaii Foodbank, a steady supply of much-needed food and more is available to those who need it most.

Desiree Martinez is the Key Project Coordinator for Community Development and Social Services. She knows firsthand why this type of service is so important to this community.

“For me, food is probably the most basic need of all time, right? We can have all these other things, but when we’re hungry, we’re not really able to do other things as well,” she said.

Key Project’s Ohana Food Bank in Kahuku began distributing food just a few months ago, and the number of people asking for help has already increased significantly.

“So we started coming to Kahuku in March, and we realized that as long as we’re consistent, people come, and I think we’re still trying to make those connections with resources and other organizations and people there,” Martinez said.

It is clear that many people are struggling to make ends meet, let alone put food on the table.

“Key Project and Hawaii Food Bank are actually one of the few resources they have in terms of social services like food, food security, basic needs and hygiene products,” says Keilee Sims, Key Project Kupuna Outreach Coordinator.

While Key Project is grateful for the support of the Hawaii Food Bank, many more kokua are needed to meet the needs of this North Shore community.

“I think we need more volunteers here. You can reach out to us, you can find more information on our website, but I think we definitely want to work with more organizations and more volunteers to provide food to the community,” Martinez said.

Hawaii News Now will be at several key Hawaii Foodbank drop-off locations across Oahu this weekend.

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