Support Local Food Security & Regenerative Agriculture
Take a moment to support a more equitable and regenerative food future for Hawaii! Three important bills to address local food insecurity, source local food in our schools and support regenerative, climate friendly farming practices have a hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems this Friday, Feb. 7th at 9:30am in Conference Room 325 and via video conference. Testimony is Thursday, Feb. 6th at 9:30am, but late testimony is still accepted.
Support HB428: Farm to Families
What Does This Bill Do?
Establishes the Hawaii Farm to Families Program to alleviate food shortages in the State.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Please support HB 428. The statistics around food insecurity in Hawaii are staggering. One in three households in Hawaii report experiencing food insecurity. Nearly half (46%) of ALICE households lack consistent access to food. Increasing the ability of food banks to purchase locally grown food is a win-win for our communities and farmers. One major challenge local farmers face is access to markets. This will help grow our local food and agriculture economy while providing our communities with nutritious food. As the cost of imports continues to increase, investing in our local food economy will help bolster our local production and food security in the long term.
Preparing Hawaiʻi’s families in the wake of disaster, food banks rely almost exclusively on private donations and grants, even though local governments rely heavily on them during times of crisis. The Farm to Families program would provide funding for purchasing from local farmers, improving emergency food access for families and opening up a local market for farmers during times of economic crisis.
Support HB 328, HD1: Farm to School
What Does This Bill Do?
Requires the Department of Education to authorize and facilitate complex areas or individual public schools to form their own farm to school meal programs through partnerships to meet the local farm to school meal goal of thirty per cent of food served in the school to consist of locally sourced products by 2030. Allows the Department of Education to establish a plant-based meal program no later than the 2026-2027 school year.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Supporting locally sourced food in school meals benefits our local agricultural sector, while providing students with nutritious, culturally appropriate foods. Sadly, progress in Hawaiʻi’s goals of sourcing 30% locally grown/produced food in school meals by 2023 has lagged.
Leveraging the power of public procurement to increase markets for Hawaiʻi’s farmers and producers is one critical way Hawaiʻi can support local producers while decreasing dependency on imports.
Additionally, children will have greater access to more culturally appropriate and nutritious foods, such as kalo, sweet potatoes and others while becoming more connected to where their food comes from. Access to more healthy foods will also support better learning outcomes. Please support HB 328.
Support HB 968: Healthy Soils
Requires the Department of Agriculture to establish a Healthy Soils Program. Requires an annual report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Please support HB 968. Healthy soils are the foundation of regenerative farming practices. 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. Heavy industrial practices have depleted 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.
HB968 is therefore not just important for our local food production agricultural sector but is good for our local environment.
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.
Learn more information below about HAPA’s 2024 FSFS policy agenda 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!
Mahalo for taking action!
