Kohala Coast Resorts Band Together to Provide Food Assistance to Employees
As the scope of the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 became clear this past spring, hotels along the Kohala Coast were forced to close their doors and furlough employees. To provide perspective, the Kohala Coast unemployment rate represents nearly one quarter of Hawai`i Island’s total unemployed workforce of 20,650, as of May.
at each of the participating Kohala Coast resorts.
The financial challenges those employees have faced in the time since they were furloughed were eased somewhat by enhanced unemployment benefits provided by the Federal government. But those benefits expired at the end of July, and if/when they are renewed is in the hands of a divided Congress.
Meanwhile, the hotels and resort development partners themselves stepped into the void to
provide a measure of food security for their furloughed employees. Waikoloa Land Company, for example, partnered with Mai Grille to provide dinners for families in need. Mauna Kea marshaled homeowners at the resort to donate to a food program for the employees there, generating $500,000 for the cause. Mauna Lani and Hualalai also ran assistance programs. Collectively, the resorts have provided more than $1.2 million in food assistance since April.
Now, the Kohala Coast Resort Association (KCRA) has received a $900,000 CARES grant from the County of Hawai`i to essentially centralize and continue funding for the food assistance programs that each of the member resorts have been running individually.
“This is a new program building on what resorts have been doing since April,” said Stephanie Donoho, Administrative Director of KCRA. “Lots of these employees are in bad straits since the end of July, so we are very grateful to the County as we’re waiting for the hotels to reopen.”
The new program will be offered twice a month from September through November, and includes two dinners to feed a family of four, along with pantry staples sourced from local farmers. The value of each basket will be between $40-$50 wholesale, considerably more at retail prices.
“This is a win-win situation,” said Scott Head, vice president of resort operations at Waikoloa Land Company. “The program will help our furloughed employees put food on the table, and it will also support the local farmers and suppliers we are purchasing the food from.”
Donoho said, “This funding will be directed to our new “Kokua for our Ohana” program to offer comprehensive food assistance to thousands of hospitality workers and their families throughout Hawai`i Island who’ve been hard hit by the pandemic and who wouldn’t otherwise be eligible to receive these funds. We plan on purchasing produce from an extensive community of local farmers, ranches, fisheries, and food industry suppliers to allow this federal funding to benefit the entire local community, multiplying the benefits of the funds beyond fulfilling immediate food security needs. It also provides continuity in established purchasing and distribution networks until the visitor industry can fully reopen.”
In addition to Waikoloa Land Company, both shopping centers at Waikoloa Beach Resort — Kings’ Shops and Queens’ MarketPlace — will participate in the “Kokua for our Ohana” program.
“Upwards of 200 employees who work in the small businesses and independent restaurants throughout our shopping centers have been impacted as a result of the pandemic,” said Kings’ Shops General Manager Lynn Rostau. “These employees are so thankful to be recipients of this grant, as it will allow them an additional means to provide for their families during this difficult time.”
Knowing that the KCRA-run program is one of many assistance programs on Hawai`i Island that are collectively helping ease the burden of local families during the pandemic, Donoho said: “We looked at all the other excellent food drives on island and set ours up on Mondays so it is complimentary to the other programs that run on different days of the week.”