Multiple wildfires on the islands of Hawaiʻi burned thousands of acres of land. Stoked by strong winds, the wildfires moved incredibly fast. Flames engulfed the historic town of Lahaina and destroyed more than 2,000 homes and businesses in this centuries-old community. With little time to evacuate and only one road open, the evacuations from West Maui were frantic, and more than 100 people lost their lives.
During the fire, there was an almost total communication blackout in the area—electricity, cell service, and landline phones were all down, which hampered evacuation and rescue efforts. These conditions continued in the days after the fire, making it difficult for families to reunite and for communities to reach out for aid.
WCK’s response in Hawaiʻi continued to evolve for over a month. Working with chefs, residents, and local community leaders, we kept adjusting our efforts to meet changing needs. From centralized distribution centers to door-to-door delivery, cooking hot meals in our Field Kitchen and partnering with local farmers to provide produce boxes, WCK was committed to supporting however possible.
By the numbers
Meals Served
Pounds
Produce and dry goods provided in food boxes
The importance of community
Chef Mark Noguchi
We’re an island, we have finite resources, but we have community. So you take all of that, you bring all of that together, and that’s how we activated.
Jennifer Karaca
It’s a combination of all these efforts that really made this possible. I think that it just shows how strong of a community we are and what amazing spirit we have.
Mark Bettencourt
What’s going on right now, you can see that the community comes together for everybody. And it’s always been like that…It’s not about paying. It’s about helping.
Supporting Maui farmers
We partnered with Maui-based organization Local Harvest to support their twice weekly farmers markets that have been a community mainstay for more than a decade. WCK teams purchased locally grown produce from Maui farmers that families picked up at the markets for free. This ensured that we got the best possible ingredients for community members who were once again able to cook for themselves, while also supporting farmers on the island impacted by the fires. Meanwhile, dozens of WCK volunteers used produce and dry goods supplied by Common Ground Collective to put together food boxes that were given out at our meal distribution sites.
Hawaiʻi Taro Farm
Robert “Bobby” Pahia is a Hawaiian farmer who has a vision of farming as a way to strengthen both the community and the land. He built a collective of farmers from different cultural backgrounds and uses regenerative farming techniques from around the world. He and his team began harvesting vegetables and protein en masse just hours after the fire, knowing that the need for food would be huge.
Local Harvest
The folks at Local Harvest put on an amazing farmers market—and they’ve done so for over a decade. The Saturday before the fire in Lahaina was the ten year anniversary of their twice weekly farmers markets. In the aftermath, they worked to find a solution for how to help the people who were impacted, as well as support the island’s farmers.
Lapa’au Farm
Michael Marchan’s farm, Lapa’au, gets its name from the traditional Hawaiian concept of food as medicine. Michael wanted to focus on foods and herbs that have healing properties, while also centering healthy foods that can nourish the entire community. The hurricane-force winds that stoked the fires in Lahaina impacted the entire island of Maui. On Lapa’au Farm, the roof of a greenhouse was ripped off and crops were destroyed. Fortunately, a few of their plants that appeared very badly damaged have rebounded and regrown stronger than before.
Continuing support
As the need for WCK meals decreased and our operations began to wind down, our team scouted out popular local restaurants in and around Lahaina to partner with. We purchased gift cards from these restaurants to distribute to people we had been supporting with hot meals during our final days of service. By doing this, we hope to create a smooth transition for people getting back onto their feet while also helping small businesses during the pause in the tourism industry. This is the team at Miss Arepa on Maui, ready to serve more than 200 meals to their community, along with many other awesome restaurants.
WCK’s Field Kitchen at Camp Olowalu
After a few weeks on Maui, our team built a Field Kitchen at Camp Olowalu, closer to Lahaina and the communities we were serving. Our teams were able to prepare thousands of hot meals per day, featuring locally sourced ingredients, like purple sweet potato, watermelon radish, and axis deer venison.
