The Salvation Army joins local partners to nourish, uplift Hawaiʻi areas impacted by Lala power outages

Meeting community needs moment-to-moment in the aftermath of Hurricane Lala, The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division has served up warm meals and aloha to high-impact areas across Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi Island this week.

Bringing comfort to neighborhoods navigating extended power outages and recovery challenges, The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) has further bolstered its relief efforts with the support of local partners to meet those in need where they are.

“A warm meal and the assurance you are seen and cared for goes a long way in communities cut off from access to daily essentials and communications, or darkened without power,” said Charmaine Hauanio-Kuewa, Divisional Director of Development for The Salvation Army Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division. “Through local partnerships, the strength and reach of a helping hand is multiplied, bringing reinforcements not only to Hurricane Lala relief and recovery, but to our preparedness for supporting our communities in the face of challenges ahead.”

Between Aug. 16-21, 2026, The Salvation Army’s feeding operations in response to Lala’s impact have included intensive outreach to remote areas and vulnerable communities with compromised resources.

More than 3,600 meals and snacks have been served at meal distribution hubs and shelters, and over 700 meals have been home-delivered to those unable to travel to community distributions. Nearly 140 boxes of groceries and pet supplies, as well as over 43 cases of water have been distributed to areas of high need. A snapshot of the food relief includes the following:

Maui

• The Salvation Army provided 172 meals to individuals seeking refuge in four emergency shelters on Maui in the immediate days following Lala.
• Grocery gift cards are currently being made available to community members in need of disaster relief through The Salvation Army’s Kahului Corps.

Hawaiʻi Island

• Ongoing lunch and dinner meal services continue at shelters across the Kaʻū District, with nearly 550 meals being provided daily heading into this week. Walmart, Waiakea Water, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, and Kaleo’s Bar and Grill have joined The Salvation Army in donating to meal services over the past week. In total, The Salvation Army served more than 2,000 meals across the island this past week.
• The Salvation Army has joined several community partners in serving meals to area kūpuna who are challenged in accessing resources. Kaʻū Rural Health Association helped identity more than 100 kūpuna in need, and the family of Demetrius Olivera in Pāhala continues serving meals to at least 50 local kūpuna. Earlier in the week, The Salvation Army Hilo Corps staff also hand-delivered meals to kūpuna sheltering at a Hilo hotel, unable to leave their rooms.
• In addition to daily community-wide feeding operations, The Salvation Army’s EDS teams are providing daily breakfast to support the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and lunch to Department of Water employees working to repair and restore water service in Nāʻālehu. Meals services are also being provided daily to first responders and aviation personnel supporting area response.
• The Salvation Army has been contracted by the State to begin feeding individuals and families from Ka’ū who will be temporarily housed in hotels as they transition out of the emergency shelter and into temporary accommodations. The total number of individuals who will require meal services is currently being assessed.

Oʻahu

• On Monday, Aug. 17, The Salvation Army coordinated meals in partnership with the City and County of Honolulu for drive-through style community dinners for around 600 people who lost power in Māʻili and in Laʻie. Additionally, 300 hot meals were also provided at ʻElepaio Social Services’ relief distribution on Friday at Nānākuli Intermediate and High School.
• In Kapolei, 150 bento meals prepared by The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center Hawaiʻi staff were delivered to Veterans Affairs staff to feed veterans living in apartment complexes that had lost power for several days, with some of the residents unable to safely leave their homes due to disabilities. 
• The Salvation Army will join the relief distribution coordinated by ʻElepaio Social Services at Waiʻanae Boat Harbor this coming Tuesday by providing meals and additional support for event organizers and volunteers. 
• 250 meals were provided to support the State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Joint Operations Center (JOC) within the first 48-hours of Lala’s impact.

Through the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) Stronger Hawaiʻi Initiative, The Salvation Army Hilo Corps was generously awarded $50,000 in funding for preparedness and recovery efforts in response to Lala’s local impact, providing support for emergency feeding operations and to ensure affected residents have access to basic necessities. 

Relief resources and gift cards for essentials are also reaching areas of greatest need. In the face of logistical challenges to resupply essentials, transportation partners have risen to the occasion, assisting The Salvation Army in bringing in cleaning supplies and child care necessities. Rainbow Helicopters donated flight transports to move nearly 50 industrial clean up kits and other relief supplies from Honolulu to Kona, where the supplies were distributed to families in the most need in the immediate days after Lala. T

o meet widespread need, Southwest Airlines is providing charitable air freight from California to Hawai‘i Island of an additional 1,000 clean-up kits warehoused with The Salvation Army in California to serve Hawaiʻi County. As some roads remain impassable, the Hawaiʻi Fire Departmentis flying the kits and additional supplies into remote communities.

Honokaʻa Business Association and Honokaʻa Diaper Bank are also supporting The Salvation Army’s efforts on Hawaiʻi Island, currently coordinating a distribution of clean up kits and KTA Super Store gift cards and other household goods to communities along the Hāmākua Coast that have endured extended power outages. 

Water and cleaning supplies from Walmart are being delivered to kupuna. Serving the youngest community members impacted by Lala and the arrival of Moke, nonprofit Baby2Baby is donating seven pallets of diapers, wipes, and baby care kits, which are en route to the islands via charitable airfreight from Baby2Baby.

“Though our operational outlook continues to evolve, our focus remains squarely on supporting communities that are saturated and struggling to emerge from the onslaught of severe weather, and on caring for first responders and others working long hours to restore vital services and access,” said Major Troy Trimmer, Divisional Commander of The Salvation Army Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division. “Together with State and community partners, we are bolstering capacity around our Hurricane Lala response, while empowering our personnel to ready for emerging needs in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Moke and other storms to follow.”

These back-to-back weather events in Hawaiʻi—together with this weekend’s anticipated arrival of Tropical Storm Saudel to communities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands—mark the eighth time since March 2026 that The Salvation Army Hawaiian and Pacific Islands EDS teams have been called to serve at stormfronts. Donations to The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services help to provide meals, essential supplies, and emotional and spiritual care to neighbors in need. 

To support Hawaiʻi communities in the wake of Hurricane Lala and emerging storm conditions from Moke, visit https://fundraise.salvationarmyhawaii.org/HawaiiPacificDisasterRelief26.