Organizations that scrambled to feed the hungry during the record-long federal government shutdown are hoping that Hawaii continues to respond with donations of food in time for Thanksgiving.
The Hawai‘i Community Foundation did a study years ago that found that a whopping 93% of local residents contribute some form of giving — generosity that continued when the shutdown began Oct. 1, said HCF President and CEO Terry George.
“There continues to be an unbelievable step-up of a variety of donors, including a new set of donors,” George said.
Many of the volunteers who loaded up donated food at pop-up food drives across the islands during the shutdown, which ended Nov. 12, were themselves unpaid federal workers, which George called “pretty remarkable at the same time that many were in line for the first time to receive donations themselves.”
Thanksgiving this year comes as nearly half of island families — 48% — are either food insecure or on the brink of choosing between food, housing or health care, even among households earning $90,000 or more, according to the second annual Food Insecurity Survey released this month.
At the same time, new work requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries are expected to make it harder for low-income residents to qualify for federal food assistance, while also facing planned increases that are expected to double Affordable Care Act health care premiums, in many cases.
They all add up to more, tough financial decisions for island families at a time when grocery prices continue to rise for everyone.
For this Thanksgiving, “we’re definitely cutting back,” said Shannon Cadell, 67, of Salt Lake.
Cadell normally buys all the Thanksgiving food for 10 family members. But this year, her children will chip in for a potluck-style Thanksgiving for the adults and Cadell’s grandchildren.
She called grocery prices “the highest I’ve ever seen.”
Cadell’s husband owns a construction business that saw projects slow during the shutdown because “any time there’s a shutdown it affects his business,” she said. As a result, they postponed the purchase of a badly needed refrigerator until they saw a Black Friday sale that cut the price of the model they wanted from $2,660 down to $1,600.
Susan Hall, a Moiliili senior citizen who retired from the Office of the City Auditor, unsuccessfully shopped for turkey parts last week, rather than a whole bird, to make jook for herself ahead of a Thanksgiving meal hosted by her son in Kalihi.
Her weekly food shopping costs have jumped from about $120 a week to $200 or higher. Food prices “are definitely a lot higher,” Hall said.
“I’m a lot more careful what I buy now,” she said. “But I am blessed.”
Several other shoppers, including retired carpenter Charles Noland of Kakaako and his wife, retired nurse Carole Noland, both 84, said they are still comfortable despite rising food prices. They already bought a precooked, 10-pound turkey for a small Thanksgiving celebration with their daughter.
“We’re doing OK,” Noland said.
Kaimuki construction superintendent Keoni Kahakeli‘i, 64, had just bought groceries that included pork butt, Portuguese sausage, pork chops and bacon.
For Thanksgiving, he expects to spend about $500 for a feast that will include ham, turkey, prime rib and side dishes for eight people. He called the price of groceries “definitely expensive.”
Kahakeli‘i is planning to spend about $300 for a Thanksgiving feeding event sponsored by his church. It’s part of typical holiday giving across the islands that’s expected to continue.
There are no shortage of opportunities to donate food and money, whether in large or small amounts. Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, for example, has begun organizing its 29th annual senior Christmas giving tree for kupuna, who have requested about 450 gifts.
Donors have until Dec. 8 to select an ornament with a kupuna’s wishes at Ward Village in Kakaako.
The Salvation Army also is accepting donations for Thanksgiving and its Angel Tree program that provides Christmas gifts to those in need.
Families that receive SNAP food benefits faced a buying crisis during the shutdown when the Trump administration initially announced that the program would not be funded for November.
Gov. Josh Green responded by providing $250 per person in state funding to the 161,400 SNAP recipients by Nov. 14.
But many families that rely on SNAP benefits often run out of food by the end of each month, creating an extra strain on Hawaii’s food banks at the same time they also were scrambling to assist federal workers.
Federal courts eventually ruled that the Trump administration had to restore SNAP, which means beneficiaries are getting a one-month boost in combined state and federal SNAP funding for November, although this month’s payments were delayed.
Green also provided $2 million in state funding for the Hawai‘i Foodbank and its nearly 500 partners across the islands, and use of $100 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding for residents with children to cover housing and utility assistance through the new Hawaii Relief Program.
Amy Miller, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Foodbank, said the combination of government funding and community donations and volunteerism mean “we do really rely on holiday giving.”
Coming out of the government shutdown, Miller said, “We are a little nervous that people gave early. We’re in fairly good shape right now. So we’re all curious how it’s going to be over the next several months.”
Source: The Garden Island
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