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Question: What ever happened to the Hawaii Foodbank efforts to restock its shelves, which were depleted after the Sept. 11 attacks? Foodbank supply grows
to meet demandBy Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.comAnswer: Demand for food bank services has risen by 8 percent since Sept. 11, but so have donations, according to Brett Schlemmer, director of operations for the Hawaii Foodbank on Oahu.
The food bank's supply fell to a 17-day supply in mid-October, but after getting the message to the public, the food bank now has enough food to feed its 110,000 to 118,000 weekly clients for 33 days.
All told, the food bank has received 176,000 pounds of food since Sept. 11, Schlemmer said. An average meal weighs 1.23 pounds.
"It was the staples, the rice and canned proteins and canned vegetables and all the stuff that is really, really meaningful in people's diets," Schlemmer said.
Monetary donations helped the food bank purchase 10,000 pounds of ground beef, 40,000 pounds of frozen chicken and 2,000 pounds of Spam.
In addition, Hawaii Dental Services donated $50,000 each to Foodland and Star Market to purchase food for the food bank.
However, while the food bank can adequately provide the 21,900 meals that leave the facility each day, Schlemmer said its member agencies -- such as food pantries and soup kitchens -- have a harder time receiving it and replenishing their stores, a problem the food bank is working to rectify.
"A lot of agencies are saying they could serve more people if they had a more continuous food supply," Schlemmer said.
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