HAPA Newsletter
Letter from the Executive Director
As we continue to witness the barrage of cruel and disastrous actions of the current Trump administration, it is clear that the federal strategy is designed to overwhelm and immobilize us. However, one of the best things we can do in these times is find the ways to effectively engage at the local level.
The current situation is making it clearer than ever that we need to get very serious about how we are going to take care of our communities locally without the support of the US federal government. That may sound extreme to some, but we must also ask ourselves how well we were actually doing before. Prior to the Trump administration one in three households in Hawaiʻi were already reporting food insecurity. Our local communities were already moving away at alarming rates due to the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing. The proposed federal cuts will just exacerbate all the existing crises.
The potential $3.5B in federal cuts to Hawaiʻi will drastically impact the already stretched anti-hunger programs and food producers in Hawaiʻi. Thankfully, three bills to address food insecurity in Hawaiʻi are still alive and going to conference committee. Of the three, the farm to families bill also importantly supports local farmers:
SB1300: free school meals for students of Hawaiʻi’s most vulnerable households,
SB960: funding for DHS to administer SNAP access, and support for
HB428: farm to families program.
Please contact your local lawmaker and ask them to support all three!
The Free School Meals for All Keiki working group, of which HAPA is a member, has organized 15 days of action to continue to uplift this priority for lawmakers.
Mahalo to coalitions and organizations such as the Hawaiʻi Hunger Action Network, HIPHI, Hawaiʻi Appleseed and the Hawaiʻi Food Bank who are taking the lead in convening and organizing engagement around these critical priorities!
We have also learned the lawmakers are planning for three special sessions to address federal funding cuts. We will keep you posted as we learn more about how the public can engage.
In addition to fighting for these kinds of tangible, immediate needs of our communities, now is also the time to envision more transformative and liberatory change. What would it take to ensure our communities truly had all their basic needs met - food, shelter, care, a clean environment, education to ensure that our communities could truly thrive, not just survive?
As we prepare to launch our 8th Kuleana Academy cohort, these are the kinds of discussions we will be having amongst our participants. How do we build the bench of leadership needed to meet this moment? Stay tuned as we will be announcing participants in our next Kuleana Academy cohort in early May!
In addition to the actions listed above, our team has identified several other ways you can engage. Check out their sections below and don’t hesitate to reach out if we can support you in identifying ways to engage in your local community or around a particular issue you are passionate or concerned about.
In solidarity,
Anne Frederick,
Executive Director
Fair and Sustainable Food Systems
by Fern Holland, Pesticides & Public Health Campaign Director
Kauaʻi continues to grapple with a rapidly spreading Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB) infestation. Infected trees have now been identified across the island from the north to the west and the community is scrambling to respond to this huge threat to our agriculture, culture and way of life. The County of Kauaʻi has just established an information hub website to help bring awareness about what to look for and how to respond if you believe you may have CRB infested trees. It is really important that we all work together across the islands to address this huge threat to Hawaiʻi, along with other invasive species that we continue to fight in an attempt to protect all that we love.
Pesticides & Public Health
On February 24th we were given the opportunity to participate in an Informational Briefing at the State Legislature to members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment, the House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, and the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems. Along with Dr. Rosana Weldon and Dr. Lee Evslin, we presented findings of concern about the heavy use of pesticides in Hawaiʻi which justifies the need for buffer zones and better data reporting requirements. This was recorded and is available here.
We also reported back to the community via a virtual meeting where we shared findings of our investigations into the data around pesticide use, particularly in north central Oʻahu, and the results of our Ola HAWAII project, which we have just concluded as a part of our partnership with University of Hawaiʻi Department of Public Health Sciences. The Ola HAWAII Project revolved around the community concerns and health associations of heavy Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) and included four focus groups with community members in this area, three focus groups with agricultural growers, including regenerative agriculture practitioners, Native Hawaiian farmers, and commercial agricultural operators using pesticides. The results demonstrated the difficulties with using data from Hawaiʻi’s required RUP reporting laws, but also underscored the community’s concerns about their environment and health as well as the challenges that growers face in Hawaiʻi.
We continue to work our way through investigating the 2020 and 2021 reported RUP use and investigating community concern around potential drift of these RUPs into adjacent communities. We hope to have updated mapping and summaries over the coming months.
Join Us in the Fight Against Facism
By Isis Usborne
As the rule of law and protective procedures of due process continue to be undermined, we can recognize that fascism under U.S. imperialism is here (again). If you or your loved ones are feeling threatened, frightened, hurt, or disempowered right now - know that you are not alone. Trans people are facing an onslaught of legal and rhetorical attacks, pro-Palestinian activists are being detained, and every day feels like a new nightmare is being fed to us by forces beyond out control. But the powers that be can never take away our truth, our fire, and our defiant love for ourselves and one another. We are more powerful than they can ever imagine, and that’s why they are committed to brutal and violent repression of our resistance. When we come together as a community, we can create safe havens within which to rest, learn, grow, and live to fight another day. So reach out to each other, support one another, and know that HAPA has your back. We are committed to building our collective capacity for revolutionary action however we can - please reach out if you’d like to learn more.
I mahalo each and every one of you for the opportunity to organize alongside you.
In fierce solidarity,
Your genderqueer comrade in the struggle for aloha ʻāina.
Reclaiming Democracy
By Aria Juliet Castillo,
Reclaiming Democracy Director
Rep. Ed Case Votes for Voter Suppression Bill. Here’s How We Fight Back!
Last week, Rep. Ed Case sided with Republicans to pass the SAVE Act, a federal bill that would make it harder for eligible voters to register or update their registration by requiring documentary proof of citizenship. He was one of just four Democrats to support it. Rep. Jill Tokuda voted no, calling it what it is: an act of voter suppression.
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act is a proposed federal law that would require individuals to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to register to vote in federal elections. This measure aims to prevent noncitizen voting, which is already illegal and extremely rare.
If your current legal name differs from the name on your citizenship document (e.g., due to marriage or other legal name changes), you need to provide additional documentation, such as a marriage certificate or court order, to verify the name change, to register or update your voter registration address.
The bill would also eliminate convenient registration methods like online and mail-in registration, placing additional burdens on Office of Election and County Clerk staff and potentially leading to mistaken voter roll purges.
Less than half of Hawai’i residents have passports, which cost over $150. For many, especially kūpuna, low-income residents, and those born outside hospitals, getting the required documentation can be costly and difficult to access. Additionally, they would need to present this information in person at their county registration office, which adds additional barriers to rural communities in Hawai‘i.
This bill isn’t about fixing a real problem…it’s about making it harder for everyday people to vote.
What we can do:
Call Representative Ed Case and let him know what you think of his vote: (808) 650-6688.
Thank Representative Jill Tokuda for standing up for democracy: (808) 746-6220
Tell Senator Mazie Hirono: (808) 522-8970 and Senator Brian Schatz: (808) 523-2061to vote NO
Share this link from the League of Women Voters with family and friends on the continent, urging all US Senators to OPPOSE the Save Act
Social and Economic Justice By Kencho Gurung, Communications Organizer
May Day, traditionally a celebration of workers' rights, holds increasing relevance today as a powerful symbol of resistance against the growing influence of the billionaire class. As wealth inequality reaches unprecedented levels, with a small elite controlling much of the world's resources, May Day serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for fair wages, workers' dignity, and economic justice.
In Hawaiʻi, we see the stark contrast- with billionaires and corporations owning and buying up more swaths of lands, we face a devastating housing crisis, and are seeing a surge in our houseless population- a significant percentage of whom are Kānaka Maoli.
The billionaire agenda, which often prioritizes profit over people, continues to perpetuate systems of exploitation (and in many cases, colonization), making it all the more crucial to stand united in defense of labor rights and a more equitable society. This May Day, it's a call to action against a system that is rigged to benefit the few at the expense of the many.
Join us on May 1st from 2-3pm for the State of the Worker Rally at the Capitol organized by Hawaiʻi Workers Center and the Defend and Respect Hawaiʻi's Workers Coalition which will be followed by a march through Honolulu (details pending) and show solidarity with our working class, laid off federal workers and our unity in the face of corporate domination and exploitation of our resources and people.
Community Care Over Incarceration
HAPA is a member of the ACLU Hawaiʻi’s Reimagining Public Safety Coalition, hui that is “working to transform Hawaiʻi's safety system away from policing and incarceration toward an intersectional public health and wellness based approach to community safety.”
Currently, we are facing a threat of a massive jail and incarceration system expansion.
Working towards well-being and safety for our communities, we must invest in community care and support rather than incarceration.
