Three-year-old Rosalee Wyant draws pictures to help raise money for the West Maui Food Distribution. She is selling her drawings for $10 donations to Lahaina Baptist Church. As of April 29, Rosalee raised enough money to feed 65 West Side families for a week.

LAHAINA – With help from volunteers and community partners, Lahaina Baptist Church has been leading the charge for West Maui Food Distribution for the past five weeks.

As of last week, the church had delivered nearly 2,500 boxes of food to the West Side community.

Lahaina small business owner Taryn Stark Wyant, whose husband, Josh Wyant, is the associate pastor of Lahaina Baptist Church, explained that the West Side has been hit hard by unemployment.

“Adding insult to injury, the vast majority of our community have not yet received unemployment checks, owing to our government’s challenges. As such, we are left in a state where our neighbors cannot feed their families,” she noted.

The West Maui Food Distribution was launched to feed families in the community for free.

“What started with 20 boxes and four volunteers has completely ballooned. Last week, we handed out over 400 boxes of food and had to turn away hundreds of families. This cannot be happening in our community,” she explained.

An issue at this point is that all of the surplus food inventory on Maui has been used. Now, the distribution program has to purchase food products at retail rates from suppliers directly.

“While both the Maui Food Bank and Sysco have been unbelievably helpful and generous in their parts, it is not enough,” Taryn noted.

“As such, we find ourselves in a place where we need to provide more boxes per week – meaning we need to raise more funds. Our hope and goal would be to feed 800 families per week through May at $10 per box.”

The couple’s three-year-old daughter, Rosalee, has taken the issue to heart and come up with an idea: Drawings for Donations.

Rosalee is drawing pictures to help raise money for the West Maui Food Distribution.

Just $10 will feed a family in West Maui for a week.

Go to www.facebook.com/1missioncommunity or e-mail taryn@platinumweddingsmaui.com to place orders ($10 donation per drawing).

Next, make your donation at www.lahainabaptist.com/donate.html, and then check your mailbox for your drawing(s).

All proceeds donated to this link will go to West Maui Food Distribution through the month of May.

“We would love to see this doubled, tripled and beyond! There is such a need; any way that we can all come together to take care of our community is valuable,” Taryn concluded.