KIFB Spring Food and Fund Drive

By Léo Azambuja

Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank Executive Director Kelvin Moniz, left, and Program Manager Kawai Gampon. Photo by Léo Azambuja

Poverty, high food prices and lack of access to food are much more to blame for hunger than food production. For more than three decades, the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank has been challenging this by distributing free food to our community. Fresh off their last event, KIFB is now pushing for their Spring Food and Fund Drive.

“We hosted our Holiday Food and Fund Drive, and that did very, very well in December. We’re hoping for a similar result; we have the same goal of 50,000 pounds (of food) and $50,000,” KIFB Programs Manager Kawai Gampon said of the Spring Food and Fund Drive, which kicked off March 1. He added the nonprofit organization is planning to reach these goals during a two-month span.

Executive Director Kelvin Moniz has been with the nonprofit organization for 23 years, and has worked through many natural disasters, economic recessions and a pandemic. Throughout all these challenging times, he said, KIFB was always there to feed the people in need.

“We managed, and the good Lord provides,” Moniz said.

The Spring Food and Fund Drive lasts until April 30. Until then, Gampon said KIFB will be working with community organizations, businesses and individuals; basically anyone who wants to be involved in it.

“They can take creative approaches to raising money, (collecting) food. It can be a discount on a dinner, if a restaurant wants to do it that way, as a donation. It can be a carwash or bake sale, anything to raise funds, internal competitions in businesses. We just want people to get involved,” Gampon said.

Usually, he said, KIFB receives a lot of volunteer help during the end-of-the-year holidays. So the nonprofit’s goal is to incentivize people to help with donations during the rest of the year. While 50,000 pounds of food may seem like a bold goal for the Spring Food and Fund Drive, KIFB reached this in its food drive in the past holiday season. With more food received, more food is distributed.

Kilauea Elementary School kids help KIFB Executive Director Kelvin Moniz and KIFB driver Kaiwi Aki during the Holiday Food and Fund Drive last December. Contributed photo

“In 2022, we distributed 279,000 pounds of food through all of our programs. That includes working with the schools and emergency direct distributions,” Gampon said.

KIFB was born in the aftermath of Hurricane Iniki on Sept. 11, 1992. Since its beginnings, it has made a profound impact on the community: KIFB distributed more than five million pounds of emergency food to Iniki’s victims. KIFB would obtain its status of nonprofit organization in 1994. Today, KIFB serves thousands of people, distributing about 100,000 meals and snacks each year through food requests or one of its various programs.

Moniz said they try to include nutritious food in every package that goes out. Besides packaged food and canned goods, KIFB also distributes fresh produce, especially for the keiki (children) and the kupuna (elderly).

“The keikis and the kupunas are the most vulnerable ones, they really need the food,” said Moniz, adding many kupuna don’t have much to eat because they are on a limited fixed income.

But anyone who wants food, Moniz said, can come anytime during business hours to the KIFB warehouse in Nawiliwili to grab a box of food. No one has to meet any qualification. The only question asked is how many people they are going to feed. If they are going to feed the entire family, they will leave with a bigger box.

KIFB Programs Manager Kawai Gampon, left, is seen here with Islander on the Beach General Manager Chris Gampon during the Holiday Food and Fund Drive last December. Contributed photo

“We don’t criticize, no questions asked,” Moniz said. When people call to ask for food, he said, the box will be ready before they even arrive at the warehouse.

Everything is zero cost to recipients. Even the school programs don’t cost a dime to schools, teachers or students, according to Gampon.

“We deal a lot with the Department of Education. We have our snack program that provides after-school foods to kids that are in those types of programs in public schools,” Gampon said. “We do our backpack program that services kids that may rely on free or subsidized school lunches, that can’t rely on that (food) on the weekends. So we provide backpacks for those kids and their families.”

Through the Keiki Café Program, KIFB provides nutritious snacks for at least 460 children every day of the week. Another 255 students benefit from the Backpack Program, which packs foods that can be stretched over the weekend.

KIFB also has a homebound kupuna delivery program that brings foods to kupuna that can’t leave their homes. The Kupuna Program serves about 200 senior citizens who receive meal kits every month. This program is facilitated through third-party agencies, but all the food comes from the food bank, Gampon said.

The Emergency Food Distribution out of the warehouse reaches an average of 400 hundred in-need community members on a monthly basis, supplying well-rounded food packages that help the recipients to alleviate costs.

Contributed photo

Moniz has been with KIFB since 1998. He used to work at PMRF, and he said after he retired from the U.S. Army, he wanted to give back to the community.

“I wanted to just do something for the people. I’ve been here now for over 23 years. It’s so rewarding just to make people happy, and to see people get something to eat,” Moniz said.

Coming from the hospitality industry, Gampon has been with KIFB for more than a year. He said it’s worthwhile to see people get genuinely happy when they receive food. But it’s also rewarding for him to be able to work with different schools, businesses, organization and individuals who want to get involved with food distribution.

“Seeing all these people come out for a cause, that is rewarding, too. It’s just so awesome,” Gampon said.

KIFB does direct emergency distribution from their Nawiliwili warehouse Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Every second and fourth Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., they hold a scheduled distribution. They also have various ongoing programs.

KIFB is at 3285 Waapa Rd. in Nawiliwili. Call (808) 246-3809 or visit www.kauaifoodbank.org for information on how to help with the Spring Food and Fund Drive.