Pasha Hawaii has donated $30,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island to support the organization’s much-needed Nutritional Supplementation “hot meal” program for Hawaii Island’s youth.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, BGCBI delivered a record-breaking 275,000 individual free hot meals over a one-year period to families and keiki in rural communities who were severely impacted by the pandemic, averaging 800 to 900 meals a day.
According to Chad Cabral, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island, the nonprofit will continue to distribute individual free hot meals and snacks after school for youth under its Nutritional Supplementation program, which currently averages 400 to 500 meals a day.
“As we embark on this new year, the generous contribution made by Pasha Hawaii couldn’t have come at a better time,“ said Cabral. “Many of the youth we see are going to school not just for the learning and academics, they are going to school to eat. And for some, lunch at school will be their last meal of the day until breakfast the following school day.”
Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island continues to support many homeless youth and children that are living in poverty throughout the island. At 26%, the Big Island has the highest rate of childhood poverty in Hawaii.
In addition to Pasha Hawaii’s cash donation, the company recently underwrote the shipping costs to bring in specialized food serving containers, allowing BGCBI to “hot seal” food items as soon as they are placed in the individual containers, and then delivered by BGCBI staff to keiki and families in need.
“The pandemic has certainly had an impact on food security with many losing their employment income through no fault of their own,” said George Pasha, IV, president and CEO of Pasha Hawaii. “No one should have to worry about not having enough food or not having access to nutritional meals for themselves or their family. The dedicated staff at the Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island continue to do a phenomenal job helping thousands of families and children in need, and we are honored to support them in their humanitarian efforts.”
Pasha Hawaii is one of the nation’s leading domestic ocean shipping companies serving Hawaii from the continental United States.