UH Hilo students take lead this summer in food distribution to local families
Students in UH Hilo’s peer-based Ka Pouhana Mentoring Program are busy this summer distributing food to local communities.
By Susan Enright.
Student leaders in the Ka Pouhana Mentoring Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo are busy this summer distributing food to local communities. Ka Pouhana is a community-based program that organizes and provides peer and faculty mentoring for students from Hawai‘i. The group’s student leaders are currently participating in “Kaukau 4 Keiki,” a collaborative effort headed by the local non-profit Vibrant Hawai‘i. The UH Hilo campus is one of 33 distribution sites islandwide for the project.
Kalehua Kukahiko, a coordinator at the UH Hilo Center for Place-Based Socioemotional Development where the mentoring program is housed, says the students are “taking the lead to pack and distribute 500 meal bags for families in the community for six weeks.” The group is busy this week packing and distributing the meals; next week will be the last distribution.
According to Vibrant Hawai‘i, “Kaukau 4 Keiki,” launched this summer on June 19, has engaged more than 100 volunteers across 33 sites islandwide to serve 7,894 keiki and distribute over 220,000 meals. In addition to ensuring food security for thousands of keiki over the summer months, the program is a demonstration of cross-sector collaboration that unites community, non-profit and faith organizations, local farmers, and businesses, and county and state government agencies.
“It has been incredible to watch our Ka Pouhana leaders accept the delivery of multiple pallets from Hawaiʻi Food Alliance and Hilo Produce, organize and count food items to hand off to three other community organizations and then pack 500 bags to hand out from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in a drive-through pick up on campus,” says Kukahiko.
“We also appreciate the support from the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management; Campus Dining; Campus Center; Campus Security; Auxiliary (Services); and faculty and staff volunteers who help to make this possible on campus,” adds Kukahiko.
La‘akea Judd, a Ka Pouhana peer mentor who is site leader for the “Kaukau 4 Keiki” activity at the UH Hilo campus, says, “If we have the ability to change the world, and impact the lives of those around us, why not start in our own communities? By sacrificing your time, money, and energy for others, you’re not only serving your community, you’re also changing someone’s life for the better.”
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
