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If Hawaii wants more affordable local food, it needs to make a stronger investment in farmers today. It’s been a pretty terrible two years for farmers and low-income families in Hawaii, two groups that were already struggling to survive before the pandemic hit.

Fluctuations in tourism and the local economy have hit many people hard, whether they grew food for tourists or worked in the restaurants that prepared it for them. Food prices have skyrocketed. As do the costs of transporting products to market.

However, among all this bad news, there is one bright spot worth noting: Access to affordable fresh food for low-income families in the state has increased dramatically thanks to a program called DA BUX.

In 2019, low-income households receiving food stamps could receive additional grocery assistance at 27 locations across the state through the DA BUX program, which doubles the value of government food assistance when used to purchase locally grown food. That number has since increased to 98 locations, and sales through the program grew 167% in 2020. Sales are expected to grow by 400% by 2023.

A significant influx of federal and philanthropic funding for the program this year means that Hawaii Food Basket, which administers the program, was also able to remove the $20 per day grocery spending limit that was previously set for families, while also working to increase access to the program in the countryside. At the same time, the program provides a critical cash flow for local farmers.

Over the past year, Hawai’i Grown’s focus on agriculture has exposed deep, systemic problems in Hawaii that are making it harder for us to break our dependence on imported food—from a lack of affordable land to growing challenges related to climate change and poorly managed through the efforts of the State of Hawaii.

But as DA BUX’s success over the past two years has shown, much can be done to increase access to fresh food in Hawaii with the right amount of effort and funding.

Here are five things Hawaii can do right now to support farmers and improve access to affordable, local food.

Providing low-income families with financial support to buy local food is aimed at public health and food security, as well as pumping money into the local agricultural economy.

The DA BUX program has seen amazing growth over the past two years. The program received $10.2 million in funding—its 2019 budget was just $1.9 million—mostly through a combination of federal grants and matching donations from local organizations. To keep funding from running out too quickly, the organization is limiting the number of retailers that can sign up to participate.

Although the program is incredibly well funded at the moment, now is the time to plan for its long-term success. DA BUX lost an additional $3.3 million in federal funding this year because it would have had to provide a matching grant locally, which it did not expect to do in the short period of time it was given (local charities). Federal funding for the program has already totaled $2.6 million this year.) An annual allocation of state funds to the program will increase its ability to attract federal grants. Gov. David Ige’s office sent $500,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds this year, but before the pandemic, the state’s contribution in 2019 was less than $50,000.

The best possible outcome for DA BUX would be to institutionalize the program and make it part of a federally funded, state-administered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program. This could really change what food security looks like and how much food is produced in the state of Hawaii right now.

Improve data collection

A lettuce farmer on the Big Island has different problems than a papaya farmer on Oahu. However, they have one thing in common – the need for better data from the government.

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Data and Analysis Division was gutted during the Great Recession. In 2019, the department attempted to bolster its data collection and analysis team with additional staff, but its capabilities are still far from what it was in past years. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is in a similar situation .

As a result, farmers lack critical information about government land use, what crops they should plant, how much to charge for those crops, and what reasonable shipping or storage costs are. Some farmers on the Big Island are using national statistics instead of the regular market reports that OSHA used to produce. But national data doesn’t always apply to Hawaii.

As the State of Hawaii faces many difficult budget decisions and is serious about supporting local food production, restoring the data analytics team in the agriculture department is an important step.

Increase support for local food farms.

Most farms in Hawaii are small, which makes sense given the land shortages on the islands.

But small farms have a much harder time turning a profit and getting their produce into larger stores that typically order in bulk. This is where food hubs come into play.

Food hubs (usually non-profit organizations or cooperatives) act as a distribution network. They buy, sell and distribute locally grown food to grocery stores, restaurants, food banks and directly to consumers, allowing farmers to spend more time doing what they know best: farming. What food hubs do is essentially create a local food infrastructure system in the state.

This is an effort worth investing in.

The pandemic has led to increased demand for local food, and many of the hubs lack the infrastructure needed to meet the increased demand. Hubs require funding to upgrade infrastructure such as food washing stations and refrigeration facilities. Others need help with marketing, increasing warehouse space or increasing their value-added products.

A bill that would have provided state funding to support food hubs died in the Legislature earlier this year . Food Hub Hui, a group of 14 food hubs across the state that wrote the law, is working on a new version of the bill.

It would be wise to carefully consider the bill in the next legislative session given the significant impact that the food hub model could have on Hawaii’s agricultural sector.

Buy more local products

While most efforts to reduce our dependence on imported food rely on state legislators or nonprofit organizations, there is one thing people can do: change what they eat.

Fresh fruits and vegetables make up a small part of our diet. The bulk of our calories usually come from staple crops such as wheat and rice. Without huge subsidies, Hawaii is unlikely to produce significant quantities of either, especially in the processed form that most people consume.

But there are many tasty alternatives that are well suited to island production.

Taro (kalo), banana (maya), breadfruit (ulu), papaya (mikana) and sweet potato (uala) are some of the staple local crops that can be substituted for pasta and bread. And they work great in local recipes like ulu adobo, poi banana bread and kalo flatbread.

Buying more ulu or sweet potatoes individually will not affect the amount of food we import into the state, but consumer pressure is a very real thing. When enough people—along with large institutions such as schools and hospitals—start buying locally produced staples, it could lead to changes in the market.

Strengthen your extension agent program

The University of Hawaii does a lot of work to support agriculture in Hawaii, but one of its most important services to farmers is its extension program.

University staff, known as extension agents, act as links between researchers and farmers. They can help farmers identify new crops to grow, solve soil or pest problems, and figure out why some crops aren’t growing.

If Hawaii wants to have more affordable local food—or have any hope of solving the agricultural problems of the coming century—it needs to make a stronger investment in farmers today.

This means not only investing in critical infrastructure such as water systems, but also supporting a robust extension program that helps farmers stay up to date with the latest technology, address pest and climate change challenges, and have a better chance of earning money. their crops, helping farmers gain much-needed business skills.

We know the State of Hawaii is not in the best financial shape right now, but we really need an action plan where we identify critical needs and get the Legislature to fund them.

For our part, our information portal Hawaii.bio offers to post free information about farmers in the state of Hawaii and provide ongoing information support to businesses that grow products in the state of Hawaii, as well as businesses that sell them or use them in their products. Please write to us about your business by filling out the form on the website and we will definitely find you the best solution for information about your business.