‘We’ll be here’: Meet N’ Eat marks 30 years serving the community hot meals and more

Meet N’ Eat, a system that gives cost-free scorching foods and food baskets for neighborhood users, celebrated its 30th anniversary Tuesday serving up hundreds of meals as the volunteer-pushed work nears 300,000 meals served.

Using position at Kealakehe Intermediate Faculty, the get and go foodstuff support handed out a whopping 500 foods Tuesday evening, featuring a scorching meal from Cheers Tapas Bar.

On the menu? Teriyaki rooster, chicken prolonged rice, pork and white rice, and groceries for the week.

The food dispersed to people in need to have comes from neighborhood eating places and groceries merchants pitching in. Between them: Cheers Tapas, Lava Java, Kukio Vacation resort, Cal-Kona make, KTA Super Retailers, The Foods Basket and the College of the Nations.

“The line normally will get as considerably as you can see,” mentioned Scott Unger, head of the Rotary Club of Kona, the nonprofit group that spearheads Satisfy N’ Try to eat.

“We try to crank it out in a 50 percent hour, but tonight we’ll likely remain longer,” he said. “If we bought a ton of foodstuff we’ll likely retain heading. We just take all the excess foodstuff to Salvation Military. We rather a lot give anything away every single time.”

With all over 20 volunteers full, five persons were being in demand of prepping the meals, and another dozen or so distributing.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary, Satisfy N’ Eat upped their foods from 300 a night to 500.

“We have not allow this die,” stated Unger. “The want for foods has quadrupled considering the fact that COVID-19.”

Thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, foods are prepared for select up by persons in automobiles somewhat than in the cafeteria as had been the scenario for the many years the system has been having spot. Although individuals no more time get to take part in the camaraderie of meeting and feeding on alongside one another, the generate-through procedure has improved the number of individuals who can be served.

“This works improved for us and for other folks. Finding more of a turnout this way,” stated Unger. “The have to have is there. Men and women arrive through below and take pleasure in it.”

On the other hand, the challenge of securing extended-expression volunteers, as well as the logistics of pulling of the weekly Fulfill N’ Eat, proceed.

“We’ve been performing this for 30 decades and it isn’t quick. But men and women have a very good feeling of assisting out. So we can pour a lot more teams into this. But we have experienced a hard time finding volunteers to adhere. The problems are logistics. And heading out to get all the food, and manage it all,” Unger stated. “But we’re almost certainly the longest operating meals stability firm on the Large Island. I really don’t know everyone else doing it this prolonged.”

Considering that its’ inception, Meet up with N’ Eat has served above 290,000 foods — not which include bags of groceries and goodies.

Fulfill N’ Take in also companions with the Salvation Military, The Lions Club, Elks club and a group of woman paddlers, who each and every serve a meal every 7 days. The software also places on a unique Thanksgiving food each and every yr.

Ardie Ikeda had ran the plan for 26 decades just after the program’s founding in 1992 by the Kona Endeavor Power on Feeding the Hungry. During his tenure, a quarter-million meals ended up served, and however he retired in 2018, even now remains the unofficial head of the method.

According to Unger, the only time Fulfill N’ Consume won’t serve a meal, is if there’s a hurricane.

“We’ll be listed here,” he explained.

Satisfy N’ Eat is held just about every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Kealakehe Intermediate Faculty off Onipaa Road in Kailua-Kona with walk-up and drive-as a result of support. People searching to volunteer, donate money or contribute things really should get in touch with Scott Unger by using electronic mail at scottaliigas@gmail.com.