The Pantry sees growing demand as Hawaii families face food insecurity

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A local food pantry is seeing continued demand as more Hawaiʻi families struggle to put food on the table.

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The Pantry, Hawaii’s only e-commerce food pantry, served 1.8 million meals in 2025, according to its latest impact report.

That represents a 33% increase compared with 2019.

Families can go online, choose the food they need and pick it up discreetly during two weekly distribution days.

Volunteer Dawn Suyenaga said the organization relies heavily on community support to serve more than 1,000 households.

“The thing about the pantry is it’s a smaller organization, but it has such a huge positive impact on our community,” Suyenaga said. “I mean, we serve hundreds. Hundreds of families every week.”

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She said the pantry operates with only a small staff and depends on dozens of volunteers to get food out to families.

The organization says recent challenges, including the pandemic, government shutdowns and hurricanes, have only underscored the need for food assistance during emergencies.

Those interested in volunteering or supporting the organization can visit thepantry.org or email [email protected].

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