Every Monday OMKM and Maunakea Observatories Make Home Emergency Food Deliveries Throughout East Hawaii
Hilo, Hawaii- (June 2, 2020) – We are very grateful for the help from our Hawaii Island community during this COVID-19 pandemic. After hearing that many kupuna and their families didn’t have transportation options and were having challenges getting to food distribution centers, Office of Maunakea Management (OMKM) Senior Advisor Wally Ishibashi reached out to us and asked how they and the Maunakea Observatories (MKO) could help. We needed help delivering boxes of food to home-bound families in East Hawaii. OMKM’s and the Maunakea Observatories’ offer of assistance was timely. Within a couple days, Wally from OMKM together with MKO representative, Jessica Dempsey of East Asian Observatory, arranged pickup of food boxes and deliveries to 70 homes in Hamakua, Hilo, Puna, and Kalapana.
“The Food Basket is doing such important work, meeting critical – and growing – needs for food security in our community. Our role here is to help them however we can.” Dr Jessica Dempsey, EAO/JCMT Deputy Director with Marjorie Dougherty.
OMKM’s Wally Ishibashi and Maunakea Observatories Support Services’ Stewart Hunter getting ready to load food boxes into vehicles.
“It’s humbling to see how quickly the Office of Maunakea Management and the Maunakea Observatories responded to a pressing need in our community. We are thankful that they could lend a hand to help The Food Basket distribute food to those who need a hand in our community,” said The Food Basket’s Executive Director Kristin Frost Albrecht. We were assured by the volunteer teams to count on them and ever since that first delivery on April 27, every Monday the trucks load up the boxes for home deliveries.”
To date, over 200 food boxes have been delivered to homes in Hamakua, Hilo, Pahoa, Kalapana, Mountain View and Volcano.
“OMKM is part of this community and when the going gets tough, we set aside our differences, put community first and take care of each other.” Stephanie Nagata OMKM Director
Adhering to strict COVID-19 guidelines, the deliveries of food boxes are set up as a no-contact delivery service. As the observatory teams arrive at the various homes, they unload the food boxes at the home’s predetermined location, wave hello and on they go to the next location.
“We are unable to solve all the challenges of COVID-19, but as we come together, united, we can make a huge difference,” said Wally Ishibashi. “Let’s take care of community first. We always help each other. It’s the right thing to do.”
Carolyn and Christoph, Institute for Astronomy
Delivery volunteers Patty (MKSS), Bruce, Wally, Cooper (Gemini)
