Hawaii Foodbank distributes free emergency meal packs for disaster preparation

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaiʻi Foodbank helped hundreds of households prepare for future storms by distributing free, shelf-stable disaster response meal packs.

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The distribution ran from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the organization’s warehouse at 2611 Kilihau St. in Māpunapuna.

Foodbank officials said the distribution is intended to help households build up emergency food supplies that do not depend on electricity.

Following Hurricane Lowell, extended power outages on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu left residents unable to refrigerate or cook food, while commercial retailers also experienced closures.

“We really just want community members to again be more prepared. So you don’t need to be food insecure. You just need to not be prepared for disaster and we’ll get these to you,” said Amy Miller, president and CEO of Hawaii Foodbank.

Emergency ration details

Known as Survivor Daily Rations (SDRs), the ready-to-eat pouches are designed to accommodate a range of dietary needs.

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Each pouch provides approximately 2,200 calories — enough sustenance for one adult for 24 hours — and requires no cooking or refrigeration.

The vegetarian packs typically include two entrées alongside complementary items such as flatbread or crackers, spreads, snacks, beverages, utensils, and condiments.

Packs are packaged into cases containing 10 individual pouches.

Hawaiʻi Foodbank encourages families to obtain at least one case per person in their household. There is no cap on the total cases a household may receive.

More events in the works

Following Saturday’s distribution, Miller added that more events are in the works to distribute more SDRs.

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Updates on future distributions will be available on HawaiiFoodbank.org.