Engel & Völkers partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters Maui for food drive

Engel & Völkers Maui has partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui to launch this year’s “Keys to Community” initiative, a brokerage-wide effort to help address food insecurity among local families, including those in the Hale Makana neighborhood in Wailuku.

The initiative comes as a newly released report from Hawaiʻi’s Food Bank Hui found that 41% of Maui County households are experiencing food insecurity — a 10-point increase over the prior year — driven in part by the lingering effects of the Lahaina wildfires, cuts to federal food assistance programs, and the rising cost of living across the islands.

“Food insecurity doesn’t take a break, and neither can we,” said LaTasha Baldwin, Real Estate Advisor with Engel & Völkers Maui and organizer of the Keys to Community initiative. “Every family in our community deserves to know where their next meal is coming from. This initiative is our way of putting our network and our platform to work for families right here in Wailuku.”

Community members are invited to support the initiative in two ways: a food drive collecting non-perishable staples — including rice, pasta, canned goods, instant ramen, instant rice, and canned meats — that will be assembled into boxes for local families in need; and a supplies drive gathering afterschool program materials for BBBS, including board games, puzzles, ping pong balls, youth activity kits, art supplies, and scissors.

Donations can be dropped off between Sept. 3 and Oct. 20 at the following locations:

• Engel & Völkers Maui, 1993 S. Kihei Rd #20, Kihei, HI 96753 (Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.)
• 1827 Wells St, Wailuku, HI 96793 (Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.)

Every donation directly benefits Maui families supported by BBBS’s as well as their afterschool programming, helping ensure children and families have access to the food and resources they need.