The Food Basket, Inc. - Hawai'i Island's Food Bank

The Food Basket, Inc. - Hawai'i Island's Food Bank The Food Basket is Hawai'i Island's Food Bank
Hilo (808.933.6030)
Kailua-Kona (808.322.1418)

Our hearts are with Kauaʻi. Lowell passed within fifty miles of Niʻihau and left a whole county in the dark, and folks o...
09/10/2026

Our hearts are with Kauaʻi. Lowell passed within fifty miles of Niʻihau and left a whole county in the dark, and folks over there will be digging out for a long while.

It was a hard reminder for the rest of us. What landed on Kauaʻi could land here. Lala already showed us what a few days without power looks like, and hurricane season runs through November 30. We would rather put food in your closet now than wish we had.

Survivor Daily Rations, just in case. This Friday, September 11, 10 AM until pau, at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo. Come in through the Kuawa Gate, by car or on foot. If you are walking, what you carry out is heavy, so bring a wagon, a hand truck, or somebody to help you.

A Survivor Daily Ration is a sealed, shelf stable meal that keeps in a closet. We are sending them out with water so you have something put away before the next storm. Amounts may change through the day so everybody who comes gets something.

If you need food this week, we urge you to come to E-Box, every weekday at both warehouses. Friday is a different thing. This is a ration you take home and do not open.

Watch the forecast and keep your shelf stocked. We are Hawaiʻi Island's food bank. Send this to a neighbor or a kupuna who has not stocked up yet.

E-Box is open today, Friday, September 4. Hilo 1 to 3 PM, Kona 1 to 2 PM. Open to everyone, no preregistration and no li...
09/04/2026

E-Box is open today, Friday, September 4. Hilo 1 to 3 PM, Kona 1 to 2 PM. Open to everyone, no preregistration and no list.

Both Food Basket warehouses are closed Monday, September 7, in observance of Labor Day. No E-Box in Hilo or Kona that day. We are back Tuesday, September 8, at the regular times.

If Monday was your day, we urge you to come today or plan on Tuesday. Send this to a neighbor who might not see it.

Help Kaʻū recover from Hurricane Lala. 💛This September, add a $5 or more donation to any ticket purchase at Kapono’s at ...
09/03/2026

Help Kaʻū
recover from Hurricane Lala. 💛

This September,
add a $5 or more donation to any ticket purchase at Kapono’s at The Lounge or The Velvet Monkey.

100% of your
donation supports The Food Basket on Hawaiʻi Island and its ongoing Hurricane Lala relief efforts in Kaʻū.

Every contribution
makes a difference. Mahalo for your kōkua. 💛

The Food Basket, Inc. The Velvet Monkey - Hawaii Kai Speakeasy Henry Kapono Foundation Henry Kapono

Hurricane Lala hit an island where too many families were already going without.In August, The Food Basket moved nearly ...
09/03/2026

Hurricane Lala hit an island where too many families were already going without.

In August, The Food Basket moved nearly a million pounds of food and water across Hawaiʻi Island. Since the storm hit, that has included 103,680 ready-to-eat meals and $300,000 in grocery vouchers, from Kaʻū to Kohala and from Puna to Kona. Emergency food reached 22 communities in all nine districts. And our regular programs never stopped, serving about 60,000 people the same month.

None of it moves without this community. The companies and churches and food banks across the country that sent truckloads. The Hawaiʻi Police Department and Tommy "Kahikina" Ching, whose one day of Fill a Police Cruiser brought in 28,856 pounds of food and $48,879. Henry Kapono. Everyone who dropped a can in a bin. The full list is in our release, and every name on it earned its place.

"Hurricane Lala created new food insecurity, but it did not erase the hunger that existed before the storm." That is Kristin Frost Albrecht, our Executive Director, and it is why we keep going.

Power coming back on does not mean recovery is complete. We are Hawaiʻi Island's food bank, and we will be here for the long recovery ahead.

Read the full story: https://tinyurl.com/tfblalanews

Need food? E-Box at the Hilo warehouse, 40 Holomua St., and the Kona warehouse, 73-4161 Ulu Wini Pl. Open to everyone, no preregistration and no list. Schedules at hawaiifoodbasket.org/lala-relief.

Want to help? hawaiifoodbasket.org/lala-relief

Send this to someone who should know what this island did for itself in August.

If you buy groceries with SNAP and you lost that food to Lala, you have until September 3 to ask the state to replace th...
08/30/2026

If you buy groceries with SNAP and you lost that food to Lala, you have until September 3 to ask the state to replace those benefits.

The deadline moved. It used to be 10 days from the day you lost the food.

Send a signed written statement to a DHS Processing Center. Put in the SNAP participant's name, your best estimate of what the food was worth, what happened and when, and a phone number or email.

This is a state benefit, not ours, and we will still help you file for it. Call our SNAP Outreach team. East Hawaiʻi (808) 796-0132, West Hawaiʻi (808) 796-0133.

Know somebody who figured they already missed this? Send it to them. Check on your neighbors and kūpuna.

Both Food Basket warehouses are closed Monday, August 31. No E-Box in Hilo or Kona that day.We are back Tuesday, Septemb...
08/29/2026

Both Food Basket warehouses are closed Monday, August 31. No E-Box in Hilo or Kona that day.

We are back Tuesday, September 1, at the regular times. Hilo 1 to 3 PM, Kona 1 to 2 PM. Open to everyone, no preregistration and no list.

If Monday was your day, we urge you to plan on Tuesday. Send this to a neighbor who might not see it.

08/25/2026

When Lala hit, this island answered.

Every basket on the map is a community reached together since the storm: Nāʻālehu, Wood Valley, Pāhala, Ocean View, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Forest, Seaview, Pāhoa, Keaʻau, North Kohala, Hāmākua, Pepeekeo, and our Hilo and Kona warehouses.

We are Hawaiʻi Island's food bank, and we did not do this alone. The National Guard trucked food and water into Kaʻū. HOPE Services carried meals to emergency shelters. County of Hawaiʻi Civil Defense, the Salvation Army, and Vibrant Hawaiʻi worked alongside us, and partners across the islands and the mainland sent trucks, water, and support. Neighbors filled police cruisers with food in Kona and Hilo. The full mahalo list is in the pinned comment.

Together, we are stronger.

To every volunteer, donor, staff member, and partner who carried food into these communities: mahalo. The work continues.

Know somebody who helped? Tag them so we can say mahalo.

Check on your neighbors and kūpuna.

hawaiifoodbasket.org

08/22/2026

Aloha,

I want to personally apologize to everyone who came to Keaʻau High School today and experienced a long wait, confusion, or disappointment.

Today's distribution was primarily intended for households who had previously applied for grocery vouchers following the Kona Low storms earlier this year. As information about the distribution was shared more widely, however, it was not clear that this was primarily a voucher pickup for previously approved households rather than an open distribution.

We should have communicated that more clearly, and I am truly sorry.
Our team did everything we could today to help the additional families who came. We were able to issue a limited number of additional vouchers to qualifying households, and we also had a limited number of other gift certificates available for households who did not qualify for the Kona Low vouchers. Unfortunately, both eventually ran out. Survivor Daily Rations (SDRs) were also available to everyone who came and wished to receive them.

I also recognize that all of this happened at an especially difficult time. Our communities have just been through a frightening storm, many families are still recovering, and people understandably came because they believed assistance was available.

We are continuing to respond to the immediate needs created by Hurricane Lala while also completing this earlier Kona Low assistance. We will learn from what happened today and do a better job of making the purpose and availability of assistance clear before future distributions.

To everyone who waited today, mahalo for your patience and understanding. We are deeply grateful for the trust our community places in us, and we take that trust seriously.

With aloha,

Kristin Frost Albrecht
Executive Director
The Food Basket

Every month, we serve 60,000 people across Hawaiʻi Island. Since Lala hit, our crews have been carrying that load and th...
08/19/2026

Every month, we serve 60,000 people across Hawaiʻi Island. Since Lala hit, our crews have been carrying that load and the whole emergency response on top of it.

Since Sunday, our crews and partners, including the National Guard, have moved food, water, and emergency rations into North Kohala, Hāmākua, Fern Forest, Seaview, Kalapana, Hawaiian Acres, Wood Valley, Pāhala, Nāʻālehu, and Ocean View. And the phones have not stopped ringing.

If you have called and are still waiting to hear back, mahalo for your patience. We are answering every call we can, as fast as we can.

Emergency food continues every weekday at both warehouses, open to everyone, no preregistration and no list:

Hilo warehouse, 40 Holomua St, 1 to 3 PM
Kona warehouse, 73-4161 Ulu Wini Pl, Kailua-Kona, 1 to 2 PM

More weather may reach the islands this weekend. We are keeping food moving, and we will post any changes right here. For storm and road updates, follow Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, (808) 935-0031.

Know somebody in one of these communities? Send this to them. Check on your neighbors and kūpuna. Stay safe, stay vigilant, and be prepared.

hawaiifoodbasket.org or (808) 933-6030

If you buy groceries with SNAP and you lost that food to Lala, you can ask the state to replace those benefits.You have ...
08/19/2026

If you buy groceries with SNAP and you lost that food to Lala, you can ask the state to replace those benefits.

You have 10 days from the day it happened. For a lot of households that clock is already running.

Send a signed written statement to a DHS Processing Center with four things:

1. The name of the SNAP participant, the person who applied for your household
2. Your best estimate of what the food was worth
3. What happened and when
4. A phone number or email where they can reach you

DHS has a sample form if you would rather fill in blanks. A signed letter with those four things works too.

We are Hawaiʻi Island's food bank. This is a state benefit, not ours, and we will still help you file for it. Our SNAP Outreach team will walk you through it. East Hawaiʻi (808) 796-0132, West Hawaiʻi (808) 796-0133. Or call DHS at 1-855-643-1643.

Know somebody who lost a fridge full of food? Share this post or send it to them. Check on your neighbors and kūpuna.

hawaiifoodbasket.org

Address

40 Holomua Street
Hilo, HI
96720

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 4pm

Telephone

(808) 933-6030

Website

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