Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Donates to Maui Food Bank for Hunger Relief

The Maui Food Bank is the latest organization to announce receipt of a “significant personal donation” from Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos.

The nonprofit reports that the contribution will go a long way towards helping the hungry on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.  

Executive Director RIchard Yust said the the gift will enable the Maui Food Bank to bring 12 40-foot ocean-going containers full of food to help Maui County alleviate immediate hunger, and restock some of the depleted staples in the Wailuku warehouse.  The organization will also be able to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers as a result of the gift.  

“Virtually everyone in Maui County has witnessed the economic impact of COVID on the lives of residents in our island community,” according to organization executives. They pointed to data from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations, which shows that during COVID-19, Maui County suffered the nation’s highest rate of unemployment.

“Today, Maui County is slowly recovering from the worst of the COVID crisis, but as with any widespread devastation, recovery takes time, both for individuals and our society as a whole. The severity of food insecurity has now started to decline, but it’s still a major factor in the lives of many Maui County residents,” according to The Maui Food Bank.

Monetary donations were also gifted by Jeff Bezos recently to Feed My Sheep, Grow Some Good, Habitat for Humanity Maui, Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers, Mālama Family Recovery Center, the Hawaiʻi Land Trust, the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center and The Maui Farm.