Hurricane Lala Deepened Hunger Across Hawaiʻi Island. The Food Basket Moved Nearly a Million Pounds of Food in August

Hawaiʻi Fire Department crews deliver food and water from The Food Basket to Pāhala, Aug. 17, 2026.

Hurricane Lala battered communities already facing hunger. In August, The Food Basket moved nearly a million pounds of food and water across the island as it kept its regular hunger-relief programs running and mounted an emergency response across 22 communities. In the two weeks since Lala reached the island, the food bank also distributed 103,680 ready-to-eat meals and grocery vouchers valued at $300,000, from Kaʻū to Kohala and from Puna to Kona.

Much of the island's emergency food moves through The Food Basket before residents see it. The organization supplies food, water and emergency goods to shelters, community distributions and partner organizations across the island, while running its own distributions from its Hilo and Kona warehouses.

The response began before the worst weather arrived. On Aug. 14, The Food Basket delivered Humanitarian Daily Rations to Vibrant Hawaiʻi for emergency shelters. On Aug. 16, working alongside the Hawaiʻi National Guard and The Salvation Army, it delivered five pallets of rations, water, snacks and drinks to Nāʻālehu, and food to HOPE Services Hawaiʻi for people moving out of shelters. Since then, deliveries have reached affected communities in all nine districts of Hawaiʻi Island.

"We keep coming back to something very simple: meet our community where they are, with what they need," said Kristin Frost Albrecht, Executive Director of The Food Basket. "Sometimes that is a box of food. Sometimes it is water, a grocery voucher or a tarp. And some needs are only now becoming visible."

Among them are losses to agricultural producers in Kaʻū, including coffee growers whose crops were nearing maturity when the storm hit. "Our farmers are an essential part of Hawaiʻi Island's food system," Albrecht said. "As we learn the extent of the losses, we want producers to know they are part of this recovery too."

Food, water and supplies continue to arrive through FEMA, Hawaiʻi Foodbank, the Feeding America network, Waiākea Water, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hawaiʻi Foodservice Alliance, Meadow Gold, Walmart, Niagara, KTA Superstores, Suisan and food banks across the U.S. Hilo and Kona residents have matched that support with fundraising of their own. One day of Fill a Police Cruiser food drives with the Hawaiʻi Police Department and Tommy "Kahikina" Ching brought in 28,856 pounds of donated food and $48,879. Henry Kapono also played benefit concerts for the response, and the Hawaii Food Industry Association and Servco donated $20,000 for Lala relief at the Made in Hawaii Festival.

The disaster response has run alongside The Food Basket's regular programs, which served approximately 60,000 people in August, while the Lala response reached over 30,000 people. "Hurricane Lala created new food insecurity, but it did not erase the hunger that existed before the storm," Albrecht said. "Our staff has mounted a major disaster response while continuing the everyday work our communities depend on."

"Power coming back on does not mean recovery is complete," Albrecht said. "Families have lost food, missed work and absorbed unexpected expenses. The Food Basket has served Hawaiʻi Island since 1989, and we will be here for the long recovery ahead."

Need Food?

Current distribution schedules are at hawaiifoodbasket.org/lala-relief and on our Facebook and Instagram pages. E-Box distributions at the Hilo warehouse, 40 Holomua St., and the Kona warehouse, 73-4161 Ulu Wini Pl. in Kailua-Kona, are open to everyone, no preregistration. Questions: (808) 933-6030.

Want to help?

Donate to the Hurricane Lala response at hawaiifoodbasket.org/lala-relief.