Leg Alert: Support Food Equity & Regenerative Agriculture!
Several of HAPA’s priority Fair & Sustainable Food Systems bills have been scheduled for a hearing this Friday. Bills include support for the creation of a sustainable food systems plan, support for the farm to food bank program and support for a healthy soils program to incentivize regenerative/climate friendly agricultural practices. Please take a moment to submit testimony in support!
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment (AEN)
Friday, February 2, 2024 at 1:00pm
Conference Room 224 & Videoconference
State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street
Written Testimony due Thursday, February 1st at 1pm!
Support SB2414: State Food Systems Planning Bill
What Does This Bill Do?
Establishes the Sustainable Food Systems Working Group. Requires a report to the Legislature before the Regular Session of 2025
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards and Members of the Committee,
Please support HB2414. Too many families in Hawaiʻi are facing food insecurity, our farmers struggle to access affordable land and water, and climate change poses threats to our local food production. However, a more resilient food system can address these various challenges but only if we take a coordinated approach.
We can meet our goals of increasing local food production while also diversifying our local economy. Because our food system is so broad and complex, a plan will be needed to identify how the various sectors of our food system can work together to increase local food security.
A coordinated food systems plan led by key stakeholders across our food system can help connect the dots between local food producers, consumers, state institutional purchasing and community anti-hunger efforts. This work is critical to identify and advance solutions to fix our reliance on imports and to create a sustainable and equitable food economy.
Mahalo for your consideration!
Your Name, Town
Support SB2479: Farm To Food Bank Program
What Does This Bill Do?
Establishes the Hawaii farm to food bank program and Hawaii food assistance program special fund to alleviate food shortages in the State.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards and Members of the Committee,
This measure would provide a source of funding for the program to fund state food banks to purchase, store, and transport food grown or produced in Hawaiʻi to local communities for distribution. This program will serve our food needs, provide local food producers with a supporting market and keep money in Hawaiʻi, benefiting our economy.
In addition to reducing hunger, food banks help to build communities by providing jobs and purchasing goods and services from local businesses, creating an economic stimulus in the areas they serve. Importantly, food donations also help low-income families free up money to meet other basic needs.
Supporting locally sourced food benefits the local economy, helps us become less dependent on tourism and more resilient and secure as an island chain. Growing, processing, and distributing food locally creates and sustains community-based jobs. Direct marketing channels between farmers and consumers boosts local farmers' incomes.
Closer proximity relationships with our food will in turn also reduce carbon emissions related to shipping and packaging waste associated with importation from the United States.
Mahalo for your consideration!
Your Name, Town
Support SB2423: Healthy Soils Program
What Does This Bill Do?
Requires the Department of Agriculture to establish a Healthy Soils Program. Requires an annual report to the Legislature. Will creates a statewide soil health assessment with a list of practices specific to Hawaii and that are most effective in improving soil health and building soil carbon stocks; provide farmers with education and technical assistance to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils; establish standards that apply to the healthy soils program relating to minimum levels of soil carbon and water content and required soil health practices; and subject to available funding, issue awards and other financial incentives to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Aloha Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards and Members of the Committee,
Please support SB2434. Healthy soils provide many environmental and economic benefits, by supporting healthy crops and a productive ag sector, capturing carbon/climate change mitigation, making plants more pest and climate impact resilient and less dependent on costly inputs.
We must provide farmers with education and technical assistance to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils and issue awards and other financial incentives to implement farm management practices that contribute to healthy soils.
In recent decades we have learned a great deal about the importance of microbial life, soil biodiversity and the potential for our soil to capture carbon, aiding in mitigating climate change. The impacts heavy industrial practices have in depleting our local soil health for over a century, we must move away from the outdated practices of sterilizing lands with pesticides and herbicides and killing the soil microbes and life, and instead support the biodiversity of insects and microbes that are beneficial to soil health. Healthy soils support more pest and climate change resistant crops
SB2423 can help to address a range of important issues we face related to degraded and damaged soils, restore and improve soil biodiversity, while also improving the overall quality of our environment and working to sequester carbon. SB2423 is therefore not just important for our local food production agricultural sector but is good for our local environment.
Mahalo for your consideration!
Your Name, Town
Join us this session in supporting a broad array of bills designed to support local farmers, food producers, increase local food production, address inequities in our food system such as food insecurity, and support regenerative and indigenous farming/food production practices.
See more information below about HAPA’s 2024 FSFS policy agenda below and take action in support of these Fair & Sustainable Food System policy priorities!
New to Legislative Engagement? Learn more about how to engage in the Legislative Session!
Make sure you have set up your account on the Hawaii State Legislature website. If you are new to the process, see this helpful page on legislative engagement 101 from the Public Access Room including a link on how to submit testimony!
About Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action
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The Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA) is deeply committed to championing social, economic, and environmental justice throughout Hawaiʻi. Recognizing the interconnected nature of food systems, we underscore that the challenges plaguing these systems are not isolated from broader social, economic, and environmental concerns. We believe in an integrated approach that addresses these interdependencies to create a just, equitable, and sustainable future for Hawaiʻi.
Contact: info@hapahi.org | (808) 212-9616
