Maui Nui 2023 Food Summit Reflection

Fair & Sustainable FSCommunity Based RS
Written By Fern Holland
 

Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action Attends Maui Nui 2023 Food Summit

We were thrilled to participate in the Maui Nui 2023 Food Summit, held on Friday, November 3, 2023 at the Maui Kamehameha Schools campus. The event was hosted by Maui Nui Food Alliance (MNFA) and sponsored by Kamehameha Schools, STEM Works, the Maui County Department of Agriculture, Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute and The Hawaii‘i State Department of Health SNAP Ed Program. 

The theme this year was Harvesting Hope: Growing a Resilient Food Future and gathered food system leaders across the islands to discuss the big picture solutions for us to better build our food security and resilience. We discussed how we return to native food systems and build our capacity to grow our own food, how we get local food into school cafeterias and move toward a more resilient food future on Molokaʻi, Lanaʻi, and Maui. We learned about efforts to develop the Maui County Food and Nutrition Security Plan and some of the pathways being paved to get people access to food. Attendees included Lāna'i and Molokai farmers, ranchers, educators, and interested participants from the community.

HAPA team members Fern Holland (Community Organizer and Environmental Scientist) and Nanea Lo (Administrative and Programs Coordinator) attended the summit, with the goal of collaborating and learning how to better support a sustainable food system for Hawaiʻi and supporting our Maui partners. It was inspiring to connect with so many of our partners doing amazing work throughout the paeʻāina and see so many Kuleana Academy alumni leading the way in this crucial work.

The day began with ʻoli and blessing led by Kaʻapuni ʻAiwohi, a Kumu at Kamehameha Schools and also Cohort 4 Kuleana Academy graduate. Locally sourced breakfast from Maui was followed by a delicious locally sourced lunch menu, with produce grown right there on the KS campus. 

Current Kuleana Academy Cohort 7 2023 alumni Kaipo Kekona, President of HFUU and dedicated Maui response leader in Lāhaina, delivered an informative keynote speech on resilience and sustainable food systems, focusing on challenges and solutions for the island of Maui.

The day continued with breakout groups, where participants engaged in discussions on various topics and challenges faced in the Hawaiian Kingdom before raping with an informative panel and further inspirational discussion! 

Check out the pictures below to get a glimpse of the event.



Questions? Please get in touch with them at mauinuifoodalliance@gmail.com.

About the Author

Fern Holland, HAPA’s Community Organizer & Scientist

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

 
 
 
Fern Holland

Fern Ānunenue Holland was born and raised on Kauaʻi and has been active in local issues relating to heavy pesticide use, land management, native ecosystem restoration, food sovereignty, and regenerative agriculture locally for over a decade. She received her Bachelor of Science with triple majors in Wildlife Management, Environmental Science and Marine Biology from Griffith University’s School of Environment on the Gold Coast in Australia in 2009.

Since then, Holland has worked professionally as an environmental scientist and consultant for ecological, contaminated land and other environmental assessments, both in Hawaiʻi and overseas.

Holland was an integral part of the development and passing of Kauaʻi County Bill 2491 for disclosure, buffers and protections related to biotech experimental research practices. She also organized the 2013 March in March in Poipu and later the September Mana March in Lihue for the passing of Bill 2491. Holland worked closely on and is featured in the award winning documentary, Poisoning Paradise. She has worked for over 15 years on environmental justice issues associated with industrialized agriculture and biotech pesticide and GE experimentation in Hawaiʻi and globally.

Holland is also a graduate of HAPA’s 1st cohort from the Kuleana Academy and ran for the House of Representatives in District 14 in 2016 and Kauaʻi County Council in 2022. She is a founding board member of I Ola Wailuanui, the Kauaʻi based non profit that is working to restore the Wailua fishpond and agricultural systems and protect the former Coco Palms parcels for the betterment of community and the environment.

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