WAIKIKI, Oahu (KHON2) — Over at the nonprofit Waikiki Community Center is their community kitchen, Olive’s, named after one of their senior volunteers. Here, volunteers help provide food for people in the area who are struggling with food insecurity.
Lately, they’ve been as busy as ever, but also in need of more to give.
“We’ve really run out of food these last couple of weeks, this has not happened before,” said Caroline Hayashi, Waikiki Community Center President. “So we’re really trying to get more food.”
Hayashi says that these last few months, in particular this past October, have been some of the busier times for the WCC.
“There’s been our regular clients, but we’ve also seen a lot of new clients that have never had to ask for food before,” said Hayashi.
This year alone, the WCC says that they’ve seen their clientele go up by 900%, from helping 100 a month to now around 800. So they’re encouraging people to help out and donate in whichever way they can.
Food insecurity has been a problem in the Waikiki community for a while, and it’s a problem that’s seemingly only been made worse in the past month.
“It looks like it’s been exacerbated by the Federal Government shutdown, and that’s why we have the Waikiki Community Center stepping up to help many of our residents,” said Waikiki Representative Adrian Tam. “So I’m making this plea to everyone that if you can help out, especially your fellow neighbors, please do.”
But in these trying times, the WCC says that their mission remains the same, and they encourage anyone who needs help to ask for help. Something that their volunteer and the kitchen’s namesake, Olive, would encourage.
“Olive was just welcoming to everybody, there was no judgment, just come as you are,” said Hayashi fondly when asked about Olive. “No guilt, no judgment, no shame, and that’s the spirit in which we run our Olive’s market and all of our programs.”
The WCC will hold its annual fundraiser on Nov. 12, where funds will go towards helping all of its programs, which include the kitchen, young children and senior services.