Hale Kau Kau Continues to Serve and Provide Holiday Meals Amid Pandemic

While 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, some local residents were hit harder than others by the COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, it was more important than ever for Hale Kau Kau (HKK) to keep up its mission of feeding the hungry and homebound of South Maui. By adhering to thorough health and safety protocols, HKK was able to serve the local community through the holiday season and beyond.

“Protecting our volunteers, protecting the program, and protecting the people we serve is the most important thing,” says HKK Program Director Jeff Naumann. “We temperature test everyone who comes to eat, temperature test volunteers and drivers, use sanitizer, wash hands, wear gloves, and wear masks. We’ve also cut down on the number of people who are in the kitchen at any given time for safety reasons.

“A lot of the people we serve are the ones who are most at risk,” he adds. “For example, the elderly, and people with health deficiencies — they are the most highrisk people in the neighborhood. It’s been a challenge, but feeding people is one of the minimum requirements for sustaining life, and we’re making sure that people have that.”

HKK has faced challenges over the past year when the pandemic radically changed day-to-day life and operations. The organization was unable to hold fundraisers the usual way, and many generous donors were not able to give as much as they have in the past. HKK has to rely more than ever on donations from local partners to carry them through, such as those from the Maui Food Bank, Safeway, Whole Foods, and local restaurants.

For Thanksgiving, Maui Food Bank provided HKK with 25 turkeys for the holiday meal.

“It’s not Thanksgiving without gravy, so I put my culinary skills to the test and made gravy for 200-plus people,” Jeff says. “We served everything out of the window except for bread and dessert, which we brought out on carts that we wheeled around to everyone. We delivered 75 meals to the homebound and served 150 people at the window. Normally for Thanksgiving, we have about 50 or 60 volunteers, and we cut that in half to be safe and secure. There were a lot more people who wanted to help, but we had to tell them ‘no.’ It’s always good to remember that we need volunteers every day of the year, so if you can’t come on Thanksgiving or Christmas, please come the day or week after the holidays!”

HKK’s Christmas menu featured turkey and sides, sweet potatoes, and seafood pasta. The meal also featured outdoor seating, live Christmas music, and a drivethrough Santa in the parking lot with age-appropriate gifts wrapped and ready to go.

With the success of the holidays, Jeff is confident that with local support, Hale Kau Kau will be able to continue to feed the hungry of the community.

“We have made it through for 29 years now, every single day, and we have a sacred responsibility to do whatever we need to do to continue making that happen,” he says. “We really appreciate the parish support, and to be able to function off of the St. Theresa campus. What we’re doing is a direct reflection of what we’re asked to do in Matthew 25 — when we are feeding the ‘least of these,’ we are doing the Lord’s work. Whether it be one of our fantastic volunteer drivers or a $10 check, it’s all part of the community coming together to make sure we’re taking care of our brothers and sisters in Christ."

Hale Kau Kau is specifically looking for volunteers to work on Fridays and Saturdays, and accepts donations both by mail, in person, and online at halekaukau.org. For more information, please visit the website or call 808-875-8754.