Kaukau 4 Keiki: Nourishing Keiki, Strengthening Community

Each summer, Kaukau 4 Keiki ensures that Hawaiʻi Island’s keiki continue to have reliable access to nutritious food when school meal programs are unable to operate. While nearly 13,000 children receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year, many schools cannot extend these services into the summer due to staffing limitations and logistical constraints. Kaukau 4 Keiki addresses this gap by providing weekly meal kits to children across the island, including in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Across 6-weeks of the summer break, 31 distribution sites served approximately 6,000 keiki each week, providing consistent access to breakfast and lunch staples during the summer months. This coordinated, islandwide approach ensured continuity of food access during a period when families are often most vulnerable.

Beyond food distribution, Kaukau 4 Keiki also serves as a large-scale practice environment for emergency readiness. Each distribution functions as a real-time response exercise, where residents build skills in food safety, team coordination, traffic flow, data tracking, and direct engagement with ʻohana. These experiences strengthen local capacity while reinforcing the connection between preparedness and everyday care.

Local food vendors played an important role in supporting this effort. Partners including Hawaiʻi Foodservice Alliance, Hilo Products, Kohala Food Hub, Farm House Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Fresh Specialties, and Hōnaunau Market helped ensure that weekly kits included fresh, locally sourced items. In total, $267,943 was directed to local farms, directly boosting Hawaiʻi’s agricultural sector while supporting families and strengthening our food system.

Volunteer participation remained a cornerstone of the program’s success. More than 700 volunteers each week supported packing and distribution efforts, including many families who also received meal kits. This model of shared contribution fostered consistency, reliability, and a sense of collective responsibility throughout the summer.

This season also marked a significant milestone: 19,000 children have been nourished through Kaukau 4 Keiki since the program began in 2021. Reflecting on this achievement, CEO Janice Ikeda shared, “To every volunteer, partner, and ʻohana who made this possible, mahalo. Your commitment to food security and community care continues to strengthen the foundation of resilience across Hawaiʻi Island.”

Messages shared by families throughout the summer reinforced that the program’s impact extends beyond meals alone. The steady presence at distribution sites, the relationships built week after week, and the shared effort to care for keiki remain central to what makes Kaukau 4 Keiki an enduring and effective response.

With strong partnerships and proven coordination in place, the program is well positioned to sustain and adapt summer food access as needs evolve across the island. To learn more about Kaukau 4 Keiki, visit vibranthawaii.org/kaukau4keiki.