High grocery prices, low pay and a lack of options have caused many Hawaii Island veterans to face food insecurity.
When Army Capt. Kevin Tam, 229th Cavalry, was assigned to the Big Island to serve as an operations officer last year, he quickly saw the stark differences when comparing benefits for military members on Oahu.
While all the major military installations on Oahu have a commissary on base, there are none for service members and veterans on Hawaii Island.
Commissaries are grocery stores that are located on military installations and sell food and household items at prices that are often below those in public stores.
“After coming here from Oahu, one of my first questions was about getting a commissary somewhere,” Tam said. “People have tried, but there is a need to show active duty military, and there is not a big population here.”
While there are active duty members in the U.S. Army Reserve, the U.S. Air Force Reserve, the National Guard and in the Pohakuloa Training Area, the population is much smaller than that of Oahu.
However, there are at least 10,000 veterans on the island, many of whom face food insecurity in their retirement, according to Tam.
Tam decided to organize a food distribution event for veterans, active military members and their families as a way to gather data about how many people need help with food.
The Hawaii Island Food Basket donated food to serve at least 1,000 veterans that were expected to go through the food line Friday at the Keaukaha Military Reservation.
“It’s our first time specifically helping veterans, and the numbers are shocking with how high food insecurity is for those in the armed services,” said Kristin Frost Albrecht, executive director of The Food Basket. “This is an expensive place to live, and a lot of these folks haven’t tried to access a food bank before.”
Volunteers included military members from PTA, the U.S. Army Reserve and the U.S. Air Force Reserve, as well as community members from American Legion Post 3, the Yellow Ribbon Fund and the Youth Challenge Academy.
Attendees received nonperishable foods, rice, fresh produce, protein, pizza and a $20 gift card to a grocery store during Friday’s event.
The information gathered from the distribution effort will be used to help advocate for a commissary, or for more support for active and retired military members, according to Tam.
“Grocery prices are expensive, and soldiers are making less here, which cause them to turn to cheaper options, like fast food,” Tam said. “That food can lower their readiness and affect their health, and we need the support to keep service members ready in case we get called up and need to answer the call.”
In the meantime, Tam plans to partner with The Food Basket as much as possible to host food distributions for veterans and active military members regularly, whether it’s once a month, or every three months.
“We have to open everybody’s eyes to the issue and show that there aren’t many resources at all available for veterans and active service members on the outer islands,” Tam said. “Getting something started is great, and hopefully we can continue and emulate this across the state and find a way to get more resources.”
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
