Feed My Sheep founder, CEO and Executive Director Joyce Kawakami joins Operations Director Scott Hopkins in using a pair of oversized scissors to cut a ribbon during a 2019 Grand Opening Blessing for the nonprofit’s warehouse in Puunene. The Maui News file photo

The Maui News

WAILUKU–On Aug. 20, Feed My Sheep held an event celebrating their 25th anniversary. The event held at Grace Bible Church celebrated not only years of generosity on the part of Joyce and Myles Kawakami, but also the thousands of volunteers who have made the organization function with kindness and aloha.

In August 1999 a community feeding program was accidentally founded when youth leader, Joyce Kawakami noticed some of her students were hungry and had no food at home. Despite sneaking groceries to these students to protect their privacy, word of Joyce’s generosity soon got out to more families in need. Weekly food distributions became a regular part of life for the Kawakami family. Over 25 years Feed My Sheep grew from feeding 6 families to 350 families every week.

Feed My Sheep currently serves households in need at 4 weekly mobile food pantries in Lahaina, Wailuku, Kahului and Kihei as well as a 5th monthly distribution in Hana. Households who qualify financially receive 10 pounds of food per person from volunteers and staff whose motto is, “We don’t have Clients. We have friends.”

The last 25 years has included community wide emergencies such as the great recession, COVID 19 and the Maui wildfires. These difficult seasons introduced new households to Feed My Sheep with as many as 10,000 people per year coming during those emergencies. To meet that growth Feed My Sheep has relied on partnerships with amazing agencies including County of Maui Department of Human Concerns, Salvation Army, Hale Kau Kau, Maui Food Bank, Maui United Way, Maui County Organizations Active in Disaster (Maui COAD), Common Ground Collective, Hawaii Community Foundation and over 30 local churches.

An additional 25th anniversary event focused on the donors who have supported Feed My Sheep is planned for November at their headquarters in Puunene. The November event will coincide with Homeless Awareness Week and be a part of the Maui Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours series.

To ensure that Feed My Sheep can serve Maui for many more years, the organization’s leadership is actively pursuing new avenues of sustainability for the organization and for the friends they serve to develop small scale agricultural opportunities. “Our goal is to give our friends control of their health and well-being by supporting their ability to grow their own nutrition,” says Executive Director, Scott Hopkins. Those who excel at farming will have the opportunity to benefit financially from these new skills and help their neighbors in need through donating back to Feed My Sheep.

If you wish to donate or volunteer to support Feed My Sheep’s continued mission, please visit their website feedmysheepmaui.com or call (808) 872-9100.