Oahu's second largest food bank reopens after historic flood By Mahealani Richardson | June 7, 2018 at 8:32 PM HST - Updated August 14 at 12:00 AM
AINA HAINA, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - After singing the praises of donors and city leaders, folks at the Angel Network Charities in Aina Haina credited volunteers in helping getting Oahu's second largest food bank get up and running again. Pastor Timothy Mason of Calvary By The Sea Lutheran Church says volunteers would just show up to help. "They would work for three hours with a mask on doing dirty work and helping us to get our mission done," he said. Angel Network board chair, Jewell Tuitele, says the agency logged 1,200 hours of volunteer service since April 14, the day after the historic storm where 18 inches of flood waters filled the small nonprofit. "It was insane. There was water up to my knees and dirty dirty water," Angel Network Charities Manager Susan Sanger said. The food bank is a critical service that feeds 3,000 people a month. "This place when it had to close its doors because of the damage, the community had to find elsewhere to be fed," said Ron Mizutani, President and CEO of Hawaii Foodbank. But sweat and support poured in including 14,000 pounds of food from Hawaii Foodbank, $10,000 from Toyopet in Japan, $50,000 from Hawaii Community Foundation and support from the city. "We have a lot of energy and a lot of passion and we are totally committed to a mission and we were going to make it happen hell or high water," said Susan Sanger, manager at Angel Network Charities. For clients like Kamuela Ah Quin, he once again has a place to go to for meals and some compassion. "Places like this helps me and helps the community so it makes me very happy," he said with a box of canned goods over his shoulder.
The Angel Network Charities gives out food every Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. In July, they plan to start giving out fresh produce. Copyright 2018 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.