Ohana Open Market Food Distribution Event

 The event was done in partnership with the Armed Services Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), and the Hawaii Food Bank. Both active-duty service members and Veterans were invited to take cost-covered groceries from a series of tents in the parking lot. 

“It’s nice to see this event come to fruition after a lot of planning,” said Chief of the Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE) Schoen Safotu. “It’s an opportunity to highlight our new clinic and bring people to see it, while also strengthening our ties with community partners through a joint event.” 

Volunteers from VAPIHCS included employees from Chaplain Services, Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program (IPVAP), Member Services, CDCE, Mental Health, Social Work, Prosthetics, Logistics, and VAPIHCS leadership. Community volunteers included Aloha Federal Credit Union, the Young Marines, Grand Canyon University, the Hawaii National Guard and Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge, the Wounded Warrior Project, EXP Realty, and the Red Cross. Members of the Armed Service YMCA were also on site with VA Police watching over the event. 

“The VA Police Service is dedicated to being at every voluntary event in order to support VAPIHCS staff and keep everyone safe,” said VA Police Chief James Ingebredtsen. “Events like this help to connect us with the community, and that is crucial because without solid community connections it’s impossible for us to be effective as police.” 

The VA Police Force is a new addition, just like the Daniel K. Akaka VA Clinic which opened on April 8, 2024. Until recently, VAPIHCS had contacted with private security. However, VA Police are a common sight at VA clinics in the mainland. The opening of the Akaka VA Clinic gave VAPIHCS the opportunity to expand and begin to integrate VA police into the VAPIHCS ohana. At this time, VA Police are based at the Akaka clinic, but in the future, they will expand to cover other VA locations. 

The Ohana Open Market Event is anticipated to happen again -possibly on a regular basis- as it’s important to address food insecurity in the Veteran population. Other events are also being planned at the Akaka clinic, including an event to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins (PACT) Act, which will take place on August 10, 2024. More details will be available soon, but if you’d like to learn more about the PACT Act or other VAPIHCS service please call 1-800-214-1306. 

“It’s really nice that we had so many volunteers show up,” said VAPIHCS Outreach Coordinator Maurice Martin. “I just helped a family carry some groceries to their car, and they were so happy and really thankful for the help. I’m glad we’re able to do things to help families in the communities we live and work in.” 

Many VAPIHCS employees like Transition Patient Advocate Rolly Alvarado and Associate Director of Operations Devin Woods were there to talk with Veterans and answer questions. Other employees like Member Service Advanced Medical Support Assistant Alexandra Bodnar were there to provide specific services like enrollment and eligibility. Employee commented that the set up went smoothly and they were passing out food ahead of the anticipated opening time. The event was successful and motivated participants to look towards future collaborations. 

“I met up with Schoen at an event we held on Schofield base in Wahiawa,” said Executive Director of the Armed Services YMCA Keola Taniguchi. “We talked and thought that it would be great to serve Veterans as well as active duty service members. We try to help wherever we can, and our partnership with the Hawaii Food Bank and the CDCE made today possible; -and I think it went really well.”