Nonprofits from Waiʻanae to Kaneʻohe offer more free meals for keiki

Youth from Waiʻanae to Kāneʻohe may pick up free takeout lunches in their neighborhoods as nonprofits have stepped up to supplement the grab-and-go meals offered at 42 public schools across the state.

The meals for children are to replace breakfasts and lunches they normally would receive if public schools were in session and not closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. On an average school day, nearly 65,000 students across the state receive subsidized breakfast and lunch at school due to low family incomes.

Hawaiʻi’s public school campuses are scheduled to remain closed through April 30 except for the grab-and-go meals. The full list of campuses where the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education is offering takeout breakfast and lunch is available at hawaiipublicschools.org.

The YMCA of Honolulu has extended its distribution of free meals to children in need at five sites on weekdays through April 3 and hopes to get support to keep the meals going beyond that date. It is working in partnership with Aloha Harvest, Kapiʻolani Community College, the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, Hawaiʻi Child Nutrition Program and others.

“It’s important to us to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry during these uncertain times,” said Diane Tabangay, executive director of youth development for the YMCA of Honolulu. “While we are working with community partners, we are still in need of monetary donations, as we hope we can extend our meal distribution through the entire month of April.”