‘Power of partnership’: Pizzas flown to Kauaʻi help feed storm-devastated residents, passengers stuck at Līhuʻe Airport

The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division partnered with Domino’s Hawaiʻi and Rainbow Helicopters last week, amplifying its reach through the power of partnership, airlifting more than 200 hot pizza pies and aloha for a mass food distribution on Kauaʻi and continuing to feed communities struggling in Hurricane Lowell’s aftermath.

A total of 255 fresh Domino’s Hawaiʻi pizzas — enough to feed 1,000 people on the Garden Isle facing widespread destruction and near total blackouts — departed onboard three Rainbow Helicopter flights and arrived at 4 p.m. Sept. 10 in Līhuʻe.

“In disaster response it matters to have partners that are willing to step in and really do whatever it takes to make sure that we meet the needs of the community,” said The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division Corporate Relations Director Heather Guerrero Wong. “Domino’s Hawaiʻi and Rainbow Helicopters, they didn’t skip a beat. They were there for us, and so it’s really exciting to know that families [on] Kauaʻi will be eating a comforting meal.”

Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services teams coordinated distribution of the pizzas in the face of compromised roads and connection challenges around Kauaʻi to serve dinner to people sheltering in all refuge areas between Kapa‘a and Waimea.

They also continued to meet evolving on-island needs moment-to-moment by passing out boxes of pizza to hundreds of people stuck at Līhuʻe Airport because of hours-long delays in U.S. Transportation Security Administration screening lines that were only exacerbated by intermittent power.

“There’s a bunch of people that are waiting to get on planes. I think we’re between one and two thousand people deep.” said Big Island Salvation Army Hilo Temple Corps. Capt. Sam LeMar, a member of the Emergency Disaster Service teams responding to Kaua‘i. “Domino’s was good enough to provide a bunch of pizzas so we handed out thousands of slices … it was an amazing thing.”

Salvation Army teams were mobilized and deployed Sept. 8 following Lowell’s closest approach to Kauaʻi County and the devastation it wrought.

Learn more at The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division website about partnering with the nonprofit to support ongoing Hurricane Lowell relief efforts on Kauaʻi.