Hookipa Kauai

Ho`okipa Kauai is an all-volunteer, (501(c)(3)) non-profit organization committed to fighting food insecurity on Kauai.  We sponsor weekly food pantries at four locations on the north and east shores plus a mobile pantry that conducts distributions of free food, hygiene and emergency survival gear for homeless and food-insecure households across the island. 

Our largest and original food pantry has been distributing free food at the Church of the Pacific on Kauai’s north shore since 1997.  More recently, as wages have been unable to keep up with rents, the need for food supplementation has grown and Ho`okipa Kauai was formed to manage the pantry and partner with other charities on similar programs.  The name Ho`okipa Kauai was taken from the Hawaiian value of Hospitality with Aloha, or transcending the norm in serving others, unselfishly extended to guests and strangers alike without expecting anything in return.

We believe in treating our clients with dignity and respect by following the Client Choice distribution model, allowing them to select their own groceries instead of receiving a generic, pre-prepared food bag.  To ensure a variety of nutritious offerings, Ho`okipa Kauai purchases fresh meat, produce, and eggs to supplement products sourced food from food banks.  We also purchase most of the personal hygiene products and emergency survival gear that we give away.   

Ho`okipa Kauai sponsors the following programs:

Weekly distributions: 

Ho`okipa Kauai Food Pantry at Anahola (Anahola Beach Park, Wednesdays, 10:30 am)

Ho`okipa Kauai Food Pantry at Princeville (Church of the Pacific, Wednesdays, 1:00 pm)

Ho`omana Grocery Assistance Program in Wailua (Ho`omana Thrift Store, Fridays, 2:00 pm)

Kokua Kapa`a Food Pantry in Kapa`a (Kapa`a United Church of Christ, Sundays, 1:00 pm)

The distributions in Wailua and Kapa`a include a prepared meal.

All pantries feature a mobile medical station provided by Kauai clinics.

 Beach Outreach Program: Our mobile pantry delivers food, hygiene supplies (soap, razors, toothpaste, etc.) and emergency survival gear (tents, tarps, batteries etc.) up to four days a week to our most vulnerable neighbors living in encampments of unsheltered households across the island plus food to homebound and food insecure residents of subsidized and elderly housing.

Ho`okipa Kauai programs are serving an average of over 400 households every week.  All private donations are applied to the costs of operating the pantries and purchasing food, personal hygiene, and emergency survival gear to give away.