Kauai Food Bank, Inc., a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization, was formally established in the State of Hawaii in November, 1994. Prior to independent incorporation and since its inception in 1992, the organization had been operating under Hawaii Food Bank, an Oahu-based non-profit.

The circumstances of the organization's birth was nothing less then catastrophic. On September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai, the northernmost island in the 50th State, and left thousands of people homeless and subsequently unemployed. In the aftermath, community heroes and heroines first formed the grassroots Kauai Food Bank amidst incredible environmental and economic chaos and emotional upheaval. The storm was classified Category 5, and prior to September 11, 2001, was considered the third worst national disaster in the history of the United States.

Initially operated purely by volunteers, Kauai Food Bank distributed over five million pounds of emergency food directly to hurricane victims. By 1994, Kauai Food Bank served about 10,000 individuals per month, or about 20 percent of the island's population. That year, Kauai Food Bank incorporated, obtained recognition as a 501 (c)(3), and subsequently developed into a professionally staffed, award-winning organization. It has earned the reputation of being the most innovative food bank in Hawaii and earned numerous national awards in the process.