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UH Maui College culinary students distribute 1,600 produce boxes

By Staff | Dec 13, 2023

KAHULUI — University of Hawaiʻi Maui College students in the culinary arts program purchasing class, along with many volunteers, organized about 1,600 boxes of produce that were distributed to students and community members impacted by the August wildfires.

The students purchased approximately 13,400 pounds of local produce through Local Harvest funded by Common Ground Collective. They also distributed about 1,000 bags of rice sourced through Rimfire Imports and paid for by the Lions Club.

Distribution was held weekly, during the fall 2023 semester. In addition:

• UH Maui College baking and pastry students also produced 600 boxes of pastries as a treat on a few of the weeks.

• For two months after the fires, the culinary arts program’s Pāʻina Building was a food preparation hub where a total of 200,000 meals were prepped, cooked and sent out for delivery for members of the community who had been displaced by fires.

• The college is currently working with the culinary arts program and the Maui Emergency Task Force to understand how to best contribute for spring.

Jennifer Giubardo, a UH Maui College culinary student, said, “Some people even start crying because they’re just happy people are able to help them out and understand what they’re going through. And it’s nice to contribute after such a tragic thing that happened to Maui.”

Fellow student Lily Weber said, “So it makes me happy to know that I’m being a part of something good and that it’s benefiting the community. So I’m just really grateful that the program that I’m choosing to participate in is choosing to help and share the love and aloha out there.”