DCCA Hawai‘i Foodbank Challenge

Among the many inspiring food bank initiatives this year, one stood out for its creativity and sheer determination. The Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) launched a Hawai'i Foodbank collection challenge that quite literally put the team to the test.

In late April, DFI employees gathered food donations for the Hawai'i Foodbank, culminating in a manual delivery on Friday, May 1, 2026.

Here's the amazing twist: every pound of donated food became a pound carried by DFI's Noah Clark and Mark Algarme, who loaded it all into backpacks and a wagon and hauled it on foot from their office on Merchant St. to the Hawai'i Foodbank on Kilihau St. - a 3.6-mile journey. Every bag of rice, can of food and jar of peanut butter was surely felt!

The team hosted live weigh-ins and shared "Struggle Stats," encouraging colleagues to rise to the challenge while tracking the final tally. The result?
A whopping 383 pounds.

The top three individual donors by weight also earned fun prizes - and of course, bragging rights. The final top donors included: Nazareth "The Promoter" Harts in first place at 76.9 lbs, Adrienne "The Body Snatcher" Teshima in second at 45.0 lbs., and Joanne "The Soup Slinger" Hara in third at 40.5 lbs.

"When we started this Carry the Load challenge, we asked the team to make it as hard as possible and they certainly delivered!!" shared DFI's Mark Algarme. "We went from hauling the equivalent of a small cooler to a full-sized vending machine through the streets of Honolulu. But while the 383

pounds was a literal grind on our backs, it served as a powerful reminder of the heavy burden food insecurity places on families in our community every day. We are incredibly proud of how Team DFI showed up!"

Another huge shoutout to DFI's heavy-lifting champions, Noah and Mark, for going the distance! While Dwight Young might not have carried the weight, he (reportedly) held the door open for Noah and Mark on their way out, so he gets a shoutout too Thank you to the entire DFI team for supporting the community in such a creative and meaningful way. Let's keep the momentum going and continue showing up strong for our community throughout the rest of the year!