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Perfect day to Paddle for Hunger

Hawaiian Paddle Sports helps raise 1,200 pounds of food for Maui Food Bank

By Dakota Grossman 4 min read

KIHEI -- Over 350 people dressed in turkey hats, Thanksgiving T-shirts and Pilgrim costumes flocked to the beach early Thursday morning, sharing in the Thanksgiving tradition of celebrating ohana.

Starting at 7 a.m. at the Kihei Canoe Club, "families and friends, moms and dads and kids" were ready with their canoes for the 19th annual Paddle for Hunger event to raise money and food for those in need.

"We are here on behalf of the Maui Food Bank, we want to donate and do what we can," Kihei resident Teresa Reiss said. "I've been doing this eight years, so my first year it was actually called the Turkey Trot, and then we started making our donations to the Maui Food Bank and it just went uphill from there and everybody just loves it and looks forward to this event. Every year, we always look for great weather and today was a perfect day."

Hawaiian Paddle Sports LLC hosted the event for the fifth time, raising the most food "we have collected in all our years" at 1,200 pounds of canned goods, cereal, rice and pasta, said program member Kathi Sollars.

She added that the free event also collected about $8,162 in donations, which included a silent auction and T-shirt sales, earning enough to provide over 32,000 meals for needy families in Maui, Lanai and Molokai.

In addition to Hawaiian Paddle Sports, Sollars said that Paddle for Hunger was also made possible by the Malama Maui give-back program, as well as Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, Grand Wailea Maui, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, Kihei Canoe Club, The Banyan Tree, Maui Kayak Adventures, Maui Surf Lessons, Hawaii Mermaid Adventures, Maui Stand Up Paddle Boarding and Made in Hawaii.

"Seeing entire families come down from the community in support of the Maui Food Bank and these different events -- we have the same style event December 15th the week before Christmas, it's called Paddle for Keiki, to raise toys for kids less fortunate," said Tim Lara, founder of Hawaiian Paddle Sports LLC. "Just seeing families coming down and seeing this is how they choose to spend their holiday morning to support others that are less fortunate is really cool."

The untimed paddle race also drew a crowd of families and friends "coming out to burn off some fat before Thanksgiving," Lara added, and they brought a selection of outrigger canoes, stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, surfskis, prone paddleboards, and anything else that floated.

The route went from Kihei Canoe Club to the Kealia Pond river mouth, and back to the club's pier, but paddlers could turn around at any point.

A father-son team raced for the first time together in a double kayak, and hope to continue to make the Paddle for Hunger a family tradition.

"My son and I have been coming for the past four or five years," said Michael Owens. "We like to come out every Thanksgiving, my wife usually cooks, so we come out and have a little fun and enjoy ourselves.

"It was perfect: sunny, no wind. It was a great day to go paddling," Owens added.

Although 9-year-old Jonesy Owens was too shy to talk, his father said that "he likes to try and pass people" while out on the course. And word on the street is that Jonesy loves his mother's Thanksgiving chocolate cake.

Kihei resident Ryan Korver, who said his favorite Thanksgiving activity is partaking in the traditional feast, participated in Paddle for Hunger to support the Maui Food Bank.

"It was a blast, a perfect day," Korver said. "It's amazing how many boats and paddlers were out there. We just had a lot of fun."

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.

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