16,000 meals served in week since Hawaiʻi fires

Wildfires on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island and Maui have devastated communities—tragically they’ve become the deadliest blazes in the United States in more than a century. WCK’s Relief Team arrived to each island on Wednesday, quickly mobilizing to the hardest-hit areas. So far the team has provided more than 16,000 meals to first responders and families in need.

The flames sparked amid an unusually dry period and were immediately fanned by Hurricane Dora—a Category 4 storm moving across the Pacific—causing gusts of up to 80 mph across Hawaiʻi. Conditions hastened the fires and hindered firefighting efforts by grounding helicopters used to water bomb the flames. At the same time, there was an almost total communication blackout in the area—electricity, cell service, and landline phones were all down, which hampered evacuation and rescue efforts.

Jachia, Mark, and Kaimi returned to what was left of their home on Maui after evacuating with their 6 dogs. WCK brought them sandwiches, oranges, and water.

Our teams arrived as firefighters were finally containing the flames and established three public meal distribution sites in the western Maui towns of Lahaina, Kaanapali, and Napili, the communities most heavily impacted. When we reached Lahaina, a centuries-old town steeped in history that was completely destroyed by the fires, we found residents had no access to electricity or water and very limited communication. First arriving with hundreds of sandwiches for rescue workers and residents in the area, we have returned with thousands of meals daily.

Watch WCK's Sam check in as our teams head towards Lahaina with meals for families impacted by the fires.

While strict road closures remain in effect, we are working with local authorities to ensure our team and dozen-vehicle convoy can reach people in the area. Despite the widespread devastation, local residents in these tight-knit communities are coming together to support one another and spread hope. One woman at a meal site told us her home near Lahaina survived the fires and she was now housing dozens of people from the area. Upon hearing this, our team delivered meals, drinks, and a cooler of ice to the house and were greeted by tears of joy when they arrived. Residents of Napili are also showing up for people in need. There, dozens of families who lost their homes have been organizing cookouts at a local park to feed neighbors and provide children a safe space to play.

To meet meal needs on Maui, we are supporting Common Ground Collective and Chef Hui—two organizations who assembled a collective of local chefs to prepare thousands of hot meals out of the kitchen of a community college. Our team was connected to this group by WCK Chef Corps members Mark Noguchi and Amanda Corby from Chef Hui. Through this partnership, we ensure the meals we provide, like curry stew with roasted purple sweet potatoes, are nourishing and culturally appropriate.

Chefs united by Common Ground Collective and Chef Hui are preparing thousands of meals daily for families on Maui.

Fires also scorched hundreds of acres of land on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island, destroying homes and forcing evacuations. When the call for help was put out, Big Island native and WCK Chef Corps member Peter Abarcar Jr. immediately jumped into action, preparing meals for fire crews working to extinguish the final hotspots on the island. Chef Peter’s seared fish served with okra, ube, and macaroni salad, along with a side of rice and soup, was a favorite among the first responders who have been working nonstop. “I want to give them comfort food that is balanced and filling. All locally grown and sourced. We love these types of meals in Hawaiʻi,” said Chef Peter.

Chef Peter's nourishing meals have become instant favorites among first responders on Hawaiʻi’s Big Island.

WCK’s response in Hawaiʻi is continuing to evolve with the situation—and by working with local chefs and communities, we will keep adjusting our efforts to meet the changing needs. After setting up centralized distribution points in the first few days, we will now focus more resources on finding pockets of need wherever they exist and meeting people where they are to best support them as they begin to heal and build back. Learn more about our efforts here.

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