The 24th Annual State Employees¡¯ Food Drive launched March 10 at a game, led by Lt. Gov. and UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ alumna Sylvia Luke, in partnership with the Â鶹´«Ã½ Foodbank, UH, and the Rainbow Warrior baseball team. The food drive, co-chaired by Luke and Second Gentleman and UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ alumnus Michael Luke, will run from March 10 to May 19, accepting monetary and food donations to reduce food insecurity across Â鶹´«Ã½.
The State Employees¡¯ Food Drive was first launched in 1999 and is held annually for state employees to support eliminating food insecurity in Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s communities. Over two decades of championing the annual food drive, state employees have contributed more than $3 million and 1.7 million pounds of food to the Â鶹´«Ã½ Foodbank.
The goal for this year¡¯s food drive is to raise $150,000 and 70,000 pounds of food. Luke is honored to lead this year¡¯s food drive and support the partnership between state employees and the Â鶹´«Ã½ Foodbank.
“As the Foodbank¡¯s largest coalition, state employees have a tremendous opportunity to raise funds and reach out to their networks so we can feed Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s families,” Luke said. “Food insecurity is a public health issue, and it will take all of us working together to make an impact for our communities.”
As one of the state¡¯s largest entities, UH is a significant contributor to the food drive, raising $70,000 in 2022. UH President David Lassner is a strong proponent of the food drive and sees the impacts of food insecurity in the UH community.
“We administered a national survey to our students across all 10 campuses across the islands and we found some 38% of our students experienced food insecurity in the last 30 days, and that¡¯s why we¡¯re so proud to participate in the food drive each and every year,” Lassner said. “I¡¯m really happy that we could kick-off the drive here today at Rainbow Warrior baseball, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ is consistently one of the strongest contributors to the State¡¯s Food Drive each and every year. This is a great way to get our students and our fans in understanding the importance of food security for everyone in Â鶹´«Ã½.”
UH Athletics and the Rainbow Warrior baseball team will continue to support the food drive as partners. Head Baseball Coach Rich Hill said, “To have an opportunity to represent Â鶹´«Ã½ Foodbank and this great cause, it gives me chicken skin; and that¡¯s what it¡¯s really about, in higher education, to make an impact on these young people. And we couldn¡¯t be prouder to host this event tonight.”
This year, approximately 1 in 6 Â鶹´«Ã½ residents will experience food insecurity, including 1 in 4 children. While this issue impacts people of all ages, keiki are most affected with Â鶹´«Ã½ currently holding the second highest rate of child food insecurity throughout the nation.
“It is more critical than ever; there is a hunger cliff coming,” said Laura Kay Rand, UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ alumna and vice president and chief impact officer of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Foodbank, which is Â鶹´«Ã½¡¯s leading hunger-relief organization. “The last portion of the emergency [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefit is being mailed out next week, but the need has not gone down. We are still serving 1 in 6 people who are facing hunger, food insecurity. We just need to stand in the gap.”
Anyone can support the Â鶹´«Ã½ Foodbank and the State Employees¡¯ Food Drive. To make a contribution or learn more, .