Since the Maui wildfires devastated communities more than eight months ago, Maui Food Bank has seen a staggering rise in the demand for food.
“We've seen an increase by over 65%. Food distribution went from 250,000 pounds a month, pre-fire, to almost 800,000 pounds a month," said Brandi Saragosa, director of operations at Maui Food Bank.
"And we don't see the need going down. We're really trying to gear our food bank up to respond to that for a long, long time,” she continued.
More than 800 families are still living in hotels after being displaced by the fires, and meals for those survivors have recently been decreased to one meal per day.
Saragosa said Maui Food Bank, and the 170 agencies it networks with, are working on how to best provide food for those in hotel rooms that lack kitchens or the ability to cook.
"We're trying to get creative with what types of food they're getting. So it's really tailoring our usual response to fit the need," she said. "We've had our ears to the ground and talking to our distribution centers and asking them, 'What is the real need?'"
There's also a high demand for fresh produce, as residents seek to stay healthy. Saragosa said Maui Food Bank now distributes about 160,000 pounds of fresh produce every month — and more than 1.4 million pounds total.
They mostly distribute that food through local community hubs, but Maui Food Bank is gearing up to launch its own food center in Lahaina this summer, with more details to come.
