The Yes Effect: Hawai‘i Foodbank
As a key partner for the nonprofit’s annual Food Drive Day campaign, First Hawaiian Bank has had a 32-year partnership with the Foodbank and the organization’s flagship fundraiser.
Hawai‘i Foodbank estimates that one in six Hawaiʻi residents are food insecure, including one in four children. It’s the second highest rate of child food insecurity in the nation.
As a key partner for the nonprofit’s annual Food Drive Day campaign, First Hawaiian Bank has had a 32-year partnership with the Foodbank and the organization’s flagship fundraiser.
Photo: courtesy of First Hawaiian Bank
“We are incredibly grateful for everything First Hawaiian Bank has done to support our annual Food Drive Day and to rally our community together,” says Amy Miller Marvin, the Foodbank’s president and CEO. “Our community really does come together, and First Hawaiian Bank exemplifies that. For Food Drive Day, they were there right from the beginning – playing a key role in getting this important event started. And every year since, they’ve helped raise important awareness around food insecurity and hunger relief in Hawai‘i.”
The Foodbank is the largest hunger relief organization in the state, and has been addressing food insecurity for 40 years. It provides food for about 125,000 individuals each month in communities on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi directly, and partners with Maui Food Bank to serve Maui County, and The Food Basket to serve Hawai‘i County.
Photo: courtesy of First Hawaiian Bank
“We truly couldn’t do it without organizations like First Hawaiian Bank,” Miller Marvin says. “First Hawaiian Bank has been a leader in corporate giving, and in giving back.
Over the last five years, more than 300 employees have volunteered on Food Drive Day. On top of that, bank employees also provide year-round volunteer support in a variety of other ways, including packing boxes of food for the Foodbank’s ‘Ohana Produce Plus and Food 4 Keiki programs. There is also an employee giving campaign, called Kokua Mai, and bank employees also serve on Hawai‘i Foodbank’s board of directors.
Photo: courtesy of First Hawaiian Bank
“They support our mission in every way. It means a lot to us – all the ways First Hawaiian Bank thinks about giving back and supporting the community. It’s more than just a donation,” Miller Marvin says. “They are truly a collaborative partner in the fight against hunger. We are very lucky there is a business leader like First Hawaiian Bank setting the standard to say an important part of doing business here is giving back and taking care of the people of this place.”
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The need for support is important, especially now. “We are really seeing the numbers tick up. Every month we see more people at our food distributions. With the current increases in inflation and the high cost of living, we see a lot of people working multiple jobs but still struggling to make ends meet,” Miller Marvin says. “Hunger is often closer than we realize. It impacts our coworkers, our friends, our family and so many others. Hawai‘i Foodbank is here to help every member of our ‘ohana.”
Your donations support hunger relief efforts in a variety of ways. For every dollar donated, the Foodbank can provide an individual with food for more than two meals – and more than a quarter of the food distributed is fresh produce. The Foodbank partners with more than 200 agency partners, about 40 local farmers and food stewards across the United States to support those facing hunger every day. On top of that, Hawai‘i Foodbank plays an active role in disaster response and has been working closely with Maui Food Bank to support the wildfire relief efforts. To donate, go to HawaiiFoodbank.org.
Sponsored by First Hawaiian Bank, Member FDIC.
