Program Allows Donations For Grab-And-Go Meals

With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening livelihoods and closing schools, thousands of families have been thrust into a position where they no longer have access to the free school meals they rely on to supplement their household budgets.

Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice is working with the Hawai‘i Department of Education and a number of community organizations throughout the state to ensure that free grab-and-go meals can be made available even while school is out.

All through September 2020, when customers visit local Safeway stores in Hawai‘i, they will see signs advertising the annual Nourishing Neighbors fundraiser sponsored by the Safeway Foundation and with the support of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

Making a donation at the register when you check out of any Safeway store on Kaua‘i, O‘ahu or Hawai‘i Island will support work to help students continue to receive free, healthy meals at a time when many families are struggling more than ever before.

“With the status of the 2020–21 academic year uncertain, and as the pandemic continues to place severe hardship on Hawai‘i families, it is critical that we continue to support free, nutritious grab-and-go meals for keiki who need them,” said Daniela Spoto, Hawai‘i Appleseed Director of Anti-Hunger Initiatives.

On a typical school day, nearly 65,000 economically disadvantaged Hawai‘i students benefit from free or reduced-price school breakfast and lunch. For many, these are the only nutritious meals that they eat regularly. For their families, these meals help relieve financial stress by reducing their food budgets.

During a typical summer, when students are not able to eat free or reduced-price meals at school, community partners work together to provide food to children and youth in low-income areas via the federal Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The free, healthy grab-and-go meals are prepared according to the United States Department of Agriculture standards.

However, with schools closed for most of the second half of the previous academic year, these partners banded together to expand the program beginning in March. As of July 16, this partnership of rotating nonprofit and government organizations had established 30 grab-and-go meal sites serving some 5,500 children per day.

“It’s clear that the need for this program is there,” said Nicole Woo, Hawai‘i Appleseed Senior Policy Analyst. “With Safeway Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors fundraiser, we’ll be able to continue meeting that need with a program that is on track to serve more than 1.5 million meals in 2020.”

The Nourishing Neighbors campaign, formerly Hunger Is, will run the entire month of September at more than 20 Safeway stores in Hawai‘i. Donations at the Maui Safeway locations will go to the Maui Food Bank, another worthy cause to support.