Big Island Businesses Donate $8,000 to ‘The Food Basket’

Locally-owned and operated Big Island businesses – Aloha Grown, Creative Arts Hawai‘i and Parker Ranch Store – raised $8,000 for The Food Basket, Inc. through their “Malama” Tee fundraising efforts.

Courtesy photo.

According to President & Owner Randy Kurohara, “The Food Basket has done so much to support the most vulnerable in our community – our kūpuna and keiki… it was our turn to kokua. Here at Aloha Grown, Creative Arts Hawai‘i and the Parker Ranch Store, we truly believe in giving back to the community that has supported us for over 40 years.”

Limited edition Aloha Grown “Malama” Tees were sold through their retail shops with 100% of all monies collected being donated to The Food Basket on Hawai‘i Island.

The shirt was designed with green fern leaves to represent the earth, while blue waves represent water – both of which are crucial and necessary food sources. “Malama” was selected as the shirt theme because malama means “to care for, preserve, protect,” and we must malama our island resources in order to provide food for our communities.

The Food Basket serves one in every three Hawai‘i Island residents through its partner agencies, providing nutritious and high quality food to Big Island families, children and seniors who might otherwise go hungry. Every $20 shirt purchased allowed The Food Basket to help feed seven children breakfast for a week, one senior lunch for over a month, or an entire family dinner for a week.