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About Us
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The mission of The Food Basket, Inc. is to feed the hungry in
Hawaii County while attending to the root causes of this
critical social problem. The Food Basket, Inc. will accomplish its mission by:
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preventing the waste of all edible food in Hawaii County;
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feeding the hungry with this food;
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educating the community about local hunger and what can be done to solve this social problem; and
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collaborating with organizations of partnering missions to eradicate the root of
hunger and other social ills: poverty.
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Hawaii Island is a food-secure, hunger-free community in which people
in need have immediate emergency access to food through the
network of social service agencies in partnership with The Food Basket, Inc.,
and that all in such need will receive
mandatory counseling to improve their situation.
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The value of a healthy, hunger-free society will be understood
and recognized by donors, policy-makers and the general public
on Hawaii Island.
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Compassionate contributions of food and money toward The Food Basket, Inc.
operations will be practiced island-wide,
all-year-long.
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A person who contributes food or money to TFBI will be viewed
as possessing integrity and good sense.
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The Food Basket, Inc. and its agency partners will be
perceived as resources for the hungry on Hawaii Island.
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The Food Basket, Inc.’s ongoing community education
programs will be an expected addition to local school and
business special speaker programs and curriculum.
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The Food Basket, Inc. will be the ultimate source of
information/education on the issue of hunger and foodbanking
on Hawaii Island.
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The Hawaii Island Food Bank operated as a program under the auspices of
the Office for Social Ministry, a department of the Roman Catholic
Church in the State of Hawaii since 1990. All programs of the Office
for Social Ministry, including Hawaii Island Food Bank, Care-A-Van and
Mobile Care Health Project, serve the entire community of Hawaii Island
regardless of religious beliefs, age, sex, ethnicity or ability.
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The Hawaii Island Food
Bank's founding occurred in Hilo when Diocesan Director Carol R.
Ignacio, visited KTA Super Stores and sparked the compassion and
imagination of its President and CEO Barry K. Taniguchi. Taniguchi
personally carried the Hawaii Island Food Bank's first donated bags of
groceries to Ignacio's Toyota Tercel trunk in 1989 and watched Ignacio
drive toward the Salvation Army to make her first delivery.
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In years of program service, two advisory councils existed on either
side of Hawaii Island. Advisors on the east side: Chair Debbie
Ching-Maiava, Glenn Hirata, Wendell J. Ka'ehu'ae'a, Pat Koga, Kat
Phillips, Allina Sam Sailer, Karen Uemura, Leina'ala Lee and Gerald
Santiago. West side advisors included Chair A.D. Ackerman, Pat Bergin,
Alex Biro, Ken Clewett, Pete Hoffmann and John Stevens.
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Hawaii Island Food Bank's
leaders implemented a long range plan that eventually allowed Hawaii
Island Food Bank to become an independent, locally governed non-profit
organization called The Food Basket, Inc. and retained a supportive
relationship with the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Hawaii.
Collaboration with other non-profits is a priority in The Food Basket,
Inc. planning, with the goal of empowering distribution partners with
training support toward greater accountability, and leading other non
profits and government agencies toward a culture of required self
sufficiency classes for clients.
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In November 2006, Hawaii Island Food Bank organized the founding board for the Food Basket, Inc.:
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The Food Basket Inc. founding board members: (L-R) Barry Taniguchi,
Debbie Ching-Maiava, Warren Lee, Carol Ignacio, Nani Lee, Tom
Whittemore
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Elected by the group of community leaders are the following:
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Chairman
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Barry K. Taniguchi (President and CEO, KTA Super Stores)
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Chair-Elect
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Thomas P.Whittemore (Financial Consultant)
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Vice Chair
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Nani Lee
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Treasurer
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Warren H.W. Lee (President, HELCO)
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Secretary
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Debra Ching-Maiava (Manager, Ken's House of Pancakes)
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Director
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Roland Higashi (President: Creative Arts
Hawaii; Hilo One, Inc.; Hawaii Environmental Land Planning)
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Ex-Officio
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Carol R. Ignacio (Original founder; Diocesan Director)
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All materials © Copyright 2007-2008 The Food Basket, Inc; Hawaii Island's Food Bank
140-B Holomua Street Hilo, HI 96720 tel: 808-933-6020 FAX:808-961-6733
email:info@thefoodbasketinc.com
Last Revised April 2008
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