Stephanie Soll ’88 Buck and husband, Chad Buck, owners of Hawaii Foodservice Alliance (HFA), recently donated and distributed food to more than 1,200 families on O‘ahu who are financially struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bucks personally showed up at the April 11 event at Ala Moana Center to offer boxes filled with bread, milk, eggs and Maui-grown potatoes, through the coordination of the Salvation Army. They were aided by many Punahou employees and members of our community, including Caryn Yee ’85, director of procurement and parent Greg Sagarang, corporate account manager.
The two-mile-long line of cars was a visual reminder of the significant need in Hawai‘i due to this COVID crisis, Buck said. “We saw a great need, as many people were furloughed from jobs, yet their assistance checks hadn’t yet arrived,” Buck said. “We were grateful to the Salvation Army who helped to quickly gather volunteers and put together a distribution line. Their expertise in emergency management was invaluable. As cars pulled into the distribution line, joy was abundant, not only from the recipients, but also from the volunteers and our HFA team. There was as much joy in the giving as the receiving. Many people contacted us after the event asking to help at future events.”
Founded in 2002, HFA is a wholesale food distribution and logistics company that has worked with food banks across the Islands to provide food for those in need, often on a daily or weekly basis. The company has stepped in many times over the years to provide emergency food supplies to local families during hurricanes and other disasters. “Whether in a crisis or not, caring for people has been and will always be at the very top of our priorities,” Buck said. “We believe that opportunities to give to others are important and satisfy our community’s longing to help one another in times of need. We are grateful to our HFA Ohana, the volunteers and the Salvation Army for making this possible. It truly was an event by and for the people of Hawai‘i.”