Hawaiʻi families are on the edge of a ‘hunger cliff’ now that extra food stamps are gone
Laina‘ala Kekahuna has grown used to working on a tight budget to feed her family but, like many across Hawaiʻi, she faced difficult times during the coronavirus pandemic.
Before the pandemic, the 31-year-old’s monthly $1,200 stipend was just about enough to feed herself, her four children and boyfriend. If her budget did not stretch far enough, her friend and coworker Pikake Demotto-Lum—who receives $900 in monthly SNAP benefits—would help her, as Kekahuna had done for her.
Since March 2020, both households received about $400 a month in extra federal money to help them meet the pandemic-related hike in food prices.