MAUI FIRE & HOLO 'AI UPDATE
Auē ke aloha nui ē!
It is with heavy hearts, me ka luʻuluʻu hoʻi, that we acknowledge the incredible loss of life, homes, and businesses on Maui due to the recent and devastating fires. We are so humbled by our communities who, in the midst of so much loss, continue to embody and exemplify what it is to belong to this place and to each other.
HOLO ʻAI UPDATE as of 12/22/23:
Over the past month and a half, we have restructured our operations and business model to further increase our capacity to answer the needs of food insecure areas of our communities, now and indefinitely. We view this shift, not only as a response to current and projected community needs, but as further operationalization of resilience and equity within our food systems.
We want to mahalo our team. After almost three months of pivoting harvests to maximize donations, our harvest and butcher teams harvested, processed, organized and delivered 56,000 lbs of fresh venison. Holo ka 'ai!
As we continue to structure long-term food-sharing, we want to also thank the recent pouring in of support from a number of amazing individuals as well as the County of Maui and Maui Food Technology Center, mahalo, mahalo!
Mahalo, also, to a growing list of amazing organizations doing the humongous work of allocating, cooking and delivering thousands of hot meals a day. The list is growing quickly, so while we can still list them all we want to mahalo Maui Food Bank, Common Ground Collective, UHMC, Chef Hui, Feed My Sheep, Havens, Mama's Fish House, Maui Brew Co., Tails Up Maui, Pauwela Beverage, Pono Pies, Rodeo General, Maui Breakfast Food Truck, Hua Momona Farms and Sugar Beach Events.
Image of the Chef Hui cooking 10,000 meals a day!
Another important piece of making this protein more readily available was getting in a large shipment of Venison Sticks for Holo 'Ai donations, with over 16,700 sticks delivered to a number of organizations.
Our goal is not just to get this rich food source processed and moved, but to do so as mindfully as possible with a focus on accessibility. We look forward to continuing to learn how to be helpful partners to a growing number of community sites and hubs, allowing for direct community distribution. Our Holo 'Ai Coolers are one solution, stocked with 1 lb packs of fresh ground for household pick-ups. Mahalo to 'Ulupalakua Ranch, Haleakalā Ranch, Kaʻonoʻulu Ranch, HFA Logistics, and Uhiwai o Haleakalā for your support in launching this cooler program!
We are grateful to be able to partner with Upcountry Strong, the Leialiʻi pod, as well as ʻUlupalakua Ranch Store, to house our Holo 'Ai Coolers and help manage their distribution. Mahalo, mahalo!
We are currently working to make venison donations more accessible through multiple pick-up sites and we will update everyone when we have those sites set up.
FOR OUR CUSTOMERS:
We do not foresee any interruptions to upcoming orders.
We will keep everyone abreast with any possible changes throughout the upcoming weeks. We currently have ample stock already positioned on the continent for all upcoming continental orders. We also have ample on-island inventory for all local orders and do not foresee any disruptions to deliveries as long as FedEx is able to deliver to your address.
Continuing with your regular ordering will be an important leg of support for our Holo 'Ai Program over the coming months. Mahalo nui for the shared impact we are able to have within our communities.
DONATION INQUIRIES:
We are excited to invite you into all of these efforts through Butcher Shop ground purchases.
Moving forward, for each lb of ground purchased through the Butcher Shop, we will share one lb of ground through our Holo 'Ai Program.
If you feel moved to offer relief funds right now and don't know where to start, there are so many amazing and vetted organizations doing such important work. May we suggest:
Maui Food Bank; Maui United Way; Hawaii Community Foundation, Maui Strong Fund; CNHA Kākoʻo Maui Fund; Maui Mutual Aid.
Mahalo nui to Hawai'i Alliance and Progressive Action for helping to consolidate many more Maui Aid Resources, all in one place.