Matson is loading up even more food support for Hawaiʻi, tacking on 100 additional shipping containers to its in-kind pledge for Hawaiʻi Foodbank. The company says those extra boxes pencil out to roughly 3.5 million meals and free up badly needed cash so the nonprofit can buy more nutritious food instead of paying freight bills.
What Matson pledged
The shipping giant has added 100 containers to an existing promise of in-kind shipping services for 400 containers annually through 2027, according to Maui Now. Each container can carry about 42,000 pounds of food, and by swallowing the freight costs Matson says Hawaiʻi Foodbank will be able to redirect more of its budget toward purchasing food and getting it distributed statewide.
Foodbank response
Hawaiʻi Foodbank President and CEO Amy Miller said the shipping partnership is a game changer for their bottom line. "This partnership has saved Hawaiʻi Foodbank millions of dollars in the last few years," she said. Reliable, predictable shipping has allowed the nonprofit to bring more food into the islands and stretch donor dollars further, according to Hawaiʻi Foodbank.
Matson's wider commitment
The expanded shipment pledge sits on top of Matson's broader community giving. The company has described a six-year, 10 million dollar cash and in-kind commitment to food security programs in Hawaiʻi, Alaska and Guam, according to Matson. Since the partnership with Hawaiʻi Foodbank began, the food bank network says Matson's support has helped move nearly 200 containers into the islands, the equivalent of more than four million meals, per Hawaiʻi Foodbank.
Why it matters
The State of Food Insecurity in Hawaiʻi 2024-2025 report found that roughly 32 percent of households experienced food insecurity during the reporting period, underscoring the scale of need, according to The Food Basket. With freight costs serving as a major expense for moving produce and bulk staples to neighbor islands, donated shipping can directly increase the amount of fresh, nutritious food that actually reaches remote communities.
What’s next
Matson and Hawaiʻi Foodbank say they will coordinate deliveries so the added containers get routed to pantries, mobile markets and agency partners across the state. The new pledge follows other Matson backing for Maui Food Bank's mobile market and emergency response efforts, according to Maui Now, and arrives as community groups and policymakers keep wrestling with rising demand for food assistance.
