Hormel sends 5 truckloads of Spam, a popular favorite in Hawaii, after Maui fires

Five trucks carrying about 264,000 cans of Spam are headed over to Maui, to provide relief to victims who were devastated by the wildfires that broke out on Aug. 8.

Hormel Foods Corporation, the maker of Spam, which has had a decades-long popularity in Hawaii, has donated cash and product worth $1 million to help wildfire victims, they said in a press release.

According to Hormel, the Hawaiian community consumes more than 7 million cans of Spam products every year, more than any other U.S. state.

"The people of Hawaii have a special place in both the history and heart of the Spam brand. Our donation efforts are just one way we are showing the community our love and support back,” said Jennesa Kinscher, Spam senior brand manager.

Hormel team members are also in Maui to raise money, which the company will match, for the local food bank. They've partnered with nonprofit Convoy of Hope to distribute products on the ground and have also designed a Spam Brand Loves Maui” T-shirt of which all proceeds will go to Aloha United Way’s Maui Fire Relief Fund.

"The fact that Spam doesn’t need refrigeration makes it a perfect item for Convoy to deliver to survivors," said Stacy Lamb, vice president, disaster services at Convoy of Hope.

Why is Spam such a big deal in Hawaii?

The canned food was introduced in mainland U.S. in 1937 as an inexpensive meat product, but made its way to Hawaii after World War II, when Pearl Harbor became a critical naval base and military personnel brought cans with them.

According to Hormel, by the end of the war, Spam products became part of the local culture and still remain a popular comfort food. Each April, Waikiki celebrates the annual Waikiki Spam Jam festival, which is one of the top food festivals in Hawaii. The two week event includes a block party in which people dress up in Spam-inspired costumes.

People today use Spam in sandwiches, eat it with rice, or make Spam musubi, which is often described as Spam sushi. Spam musubi is a hand-held snack with in which Spam is caramelized in a sweet and savory sauce and put atop a bed of white rice and wrapped neatly with a piece of nori or dried seaweed. 

Spam musubi is so popular, the island celebrates National Spam Musubi Day every year on Aug. 8. This year, it was the same date the fires first erupted in Lahaina in Maui county.

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Reporter Kathleen Wong contributed to this story.