$80K Donated to Maui United Way to Support Kaukau 4 Keiki Summer Meals

Nuestro Futuro Foundation donated $80,000 to Maui United Way for The Kaukau 4 Keiki Summer Meals to You Program which will go towards the purchasing of food, distribution and administration efforts to run the program on Maui and Lānaʻi.

Maui United Way is serving as the fiscal agent along with community support from Mahi Pono, HFUU Hāna Chapter, Hawaiʻi Food Service Alliance, Sensei Lānaʻi, and Maui and Hāna farmers. Nuestro Futuro Foundation has been a part of the Maui Community since 2009 and has helped many Maui nonprofits supporting education, addiction recovery and community building. 

In partnership with the USDA and DOE, the Kaukau 4 Keiki was created to address the gap in food access for students in need who are unable to access the Department of Education’s summer Grab and Go Meals distribution sites due to lack of transportation or family/work schedule.

Kaukau 4 Keiki is piloting the program on Maui for students 18 years and younger and up to age 22 with disabilities who live in zip codes starting with 967. Families signed up to receive the food box delivery online and were awarded boxes on a first-come, first-served basis. Kaukau 4 Keiki will run through July 30, 2021, and will provide food for breakfasts and lunches for 600 children on Maui and Lānaʻi. 

A recent University of Hawai’i study found that “nearly half of Hawai’i families with children reported struggling to pay for meals as of March 2021,” with an estimated 54,700 children facing hunger. According to Feeding America and the Maui Food Bank, in Maui County, one of every five children is food insecure. 

“The capacity for our community to pull together and take swift action to support our youth while simultaneously supporting local agriculture is of great inspiration to us at Nuestro Futuro Foundation. We are honored to be a part of the team,” said Abigail Perrin, Executive Director of Nuestro Futuro Foundation. 

The program not only supports feeding families but also supports local agriculture by utilizing healthy starches like poi and 10 pounds of fresh Maui produce. Each box also contains milk, bread and protein which is delivered by a team of two dozen community members. 

Maui United Way is working closely with Kaukau for Keiki’s Maui Coordinator, Kaimana Brummel, to ensure that as much local produce is used to deliver the healthiest options to keiki on Maui and Lānaʻi. 

“In regular times a program like this would look much different than this. Being able to ensure keiki in need have the food security they need couldn’t have happened without Nuestro Futuro’s added support and trust. Being able to deliver a full week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches means that fewer children will go hungry this summer,” said Nicholas Winfrey, Maui United Way’s President and CPO.