About Town | 4-7-15

Honaunau ranch gets $100K for food program

Honaunau ranch gets $100K for food program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $100,000 to Heritage Ranch Inc. in Honaunau as part of its funding to local, state and national organizations to support programs that help participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) increase their purchase of fruits and vegetables. Recognizing that all Americans fall well short of the servings of fruits and vegetables recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the grants will test incentive strategies to help SNAP participants better afford fruits and vegetables. These grants were made through the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) program authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

FINI is a joint effort between USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees SNAP and has responsibility for evaluating the effectiveness of the incentive projects. FINI brings together stakeholders from distinct parts of the food system and fosters understanding of how they might improve the nutrition and health status of SNAP households. The awards under FINI represent a variety of projects, including relatively small pilot projects, multi-year community-based projects, and larger-scale multi-year projects.

Kealakehe High seeks volunteer interviewers

Kealakehe High School is asking for community members to help with panel interviews for 2015 graduating Kealakehe High School seniors.

In order to receive a diploma and participate in the graduation ceremony, all graduating Kealakehe High seniors are required to make a presentation as part of their required Personal Transition Plan. Approximately 290 seniors will be interviewed. Student interviews will be held on the following days: April 15, 16, 29 and April 30. The time commitment is one and a half hours on a three- to four-member panel consisting of a community, faculty and staff member, interviewing up to four students per hour.

Contact Linda Jeffrey at khparentcenter@yahoo.com or 313-3652 to get additional information and to volunteer.

Montessori school holds open house

Families of current and prospective Hawaii Montessori School students between the ages of 6 weeks old to 6 years old are invited to attend an open house from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Kona campus, 74-978 Manawalea St.

Visitors will have an opportunity to visit classrooms, learn about the school and its programs, financial aid opportunities, and to meet staff members. Lehua Kaulukukui of Kamehameha Schools will provide information on the Pauahi Keiki Scholars program for children born in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

For more information, contact Angeline Geldhof, executive director, at 329-0700 or angeline@hawaiimontessori.org.

Kona Traffic Safety Committee meets Thursday

Kona Traffic Safety Committee will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday to discuss traffic issues with public officials who can make a difference. Everyone is welcome. The last meeting was standing room only because of a large turnout who wanted to discuss speed control devices.

Parking is available in the makai parking lot next Building G.

Bacardi Bash to benefit Kohala Hospital

Hawaii Island chefs and mixologists will compete Friday and Saturday in the second annual Bacardi Bash. The event is a fundraiser for Kohala Hospital.

Bacardi Bash starts with a meet and greet reception on Friday at Hau Tree Restaurant, followed by the main competition on Saturday at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel’s luau grounds. There, each participating chef and mixologist, who previously selected a protein and spirit to create a food and cocktail pairing, will serve their creations to guests.

Guests will play a key role in determining the winning food and drink pairing.

Cost to attend the Bacardi Bash is $75 and includes food and spirit samplings. Cost for the reception is $40. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 882-5707 or visit maunakeabeachhotel.com/events.