Honolulu Mayor Caldwell, along with Aloha Beer owner Steve Sombrero announced Friday a coalition of catering and food truck operators will deliver free meals to Hawaiʻi’s kūpuna on Oʻahu during this COVID-19 period. This coalition is self-funded but is looking for grants from local foundations and donors to support this project.

The coalition has created a website called “Mālama Meals COVID-19 Community Meal Program” with the goals of supporting kūpuna, who are encouraged to stay out of the public for the next 15 days. This program will provide meals to seniors who live in senior centers along with keiki who depend on school meal programs.

Department of Community Services Director, Pamela Witty-Oakland, shared, “our Elderly Affairs team is excited to launch this partnership, which will supplement our existing meal delivery program to home-bound seniors and expand that network to help our kūpuna at senior housing across the island get nutritious meals that will allow them to stay in their homes as we all try to help flatten the curve.”  Some of the projects receiving daily meals will include:

• Whitmore Circle Apartments
• Kumuwai, the City’s newest project which provided permanent housing to previously homeless seniors
• Mānoa Gardens
• Nā Lei Hulu Kūpuna
• Franciscan Vistas ʻEwa Beach
• West Loch Elderly Village
• Additional sites still being confirmed

The City and County of Honolulu, Department of Community Services, also serves as the Area Agency on Aging.  Our County Executive on Aging, Derrick Ariyoshi, and his team have been working hard with our network of senior care providers to ensure that in-home and meal services to the thousands of seniors we serve will continue uninterrupted. Catholic Charities of Hawaiʻi has also been a key partner in reaching out to the senior housing to be served through this program.

Coalition Partners currently include Owner of Aloha Beer Steve Sombrero, Debra Espino of Applebee’s, IHOP and Olive Garden Restaurants, Ahmad Ramadan of Da Spot, Gilbert Sakaguchi of Blue Water Shrimp, and Dan Port of Aloha Venues. In coordination with public service and non-profit community organizations, Mālama Meals mission is to provide food security to individuals and communities in need or at risk to contain COVID-19.

Those in need can also request meals online at Malama Meals website, www.malamameals.org.