Robert “Bob” Harrison

Aloha Harvest helps feed the hungry. Its truck picks up food from more than 300 donors, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dunkin’ Donuts, Outrigger, Meadow Gold Dairies, Y. Hata and Castle Medical Center, plus restaurants, food wholesalers and retailers. Then it delivers the food to more than 100 agencies that feed people, including abuse shelters.

Volunteer president and chairman Robert “Bob” Harrison says riding along in the truck is the best way to get the feel of what Aloha Harvest does.

“That’s where you really get to see it in action,” he says. “If you don’t, you tend to lose sight of what you are doing.”

Harrison, who works full time for First Hawaiian Bank, got involved in Aloha Harvest when he heard about it from his friend Robbie Alm, then-director of the organization and also employed by First Hawaiian Bank. Involved since the organization’s inception in 1999, Harrison says he’s proud of its three full-time staffers and many volunteers. He attends monthly board meetings, as well as additional meetings with executive director Chris Chun.

“We’ve got a great board,” he acknowledges. “Everyone’s really focused on helping people. It’s the right thing to do. It’s really rewarding.”

The board is still tossing up ideas to create a yearly signature fundraiser, he adds.

Harrison attended UH and finished as a math major at UCLA. He has been involved in several volunteer ventures, including serving on the boards of Maryknoll, Hawaii Community Reinvestment Corporation, Retail Merchants for eight years, and volunteering on the finance committee at Sacred Hearts Academy. He enjoys working in the yard, playing golf, and spending time with his wife, Kaiser grad Lori, an Ob/Gyn nurse, and his three children, Tim, 16, Julia, 14, and Nicole, 6 — that is, when he’s not busy volunteering.

“We are always looking for more donors,” says Harrison. “One of the hardest things to find is the protein and cheeses.”

If you have some protein to spare, call 537-6945.

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