Photo of taro fields in Kauai via Flickr Creative Commons by Michael Menefee
Nonprofit organizations in Hawaiʻi are receiving thousands in dollars to improve food security on the islands in the wake of COVID-19. For the Native Hawaiian community, this means food production at the grassroots level to keep native practices alive.
More than 30 nonprofit organizations across the islands will receive more than $720,000 in grants from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Strong Funds, according to Civil Beat. The amount comes from a $3 million Emergency Relief Package provided by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees.
OHA granted HCF through the relief package after the impacts of COVID-19 hit the food systems in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities.
After the outbreak, Hawaiʻi residents were forced to rethink their food sources.
The number of sustainable food pioneers and local farmers are growing within the state as residents slowly drift away from relying on imported foods.
Hawaiʻi spends up to $3 billion per year to import 90% of the state’s food, reported Civil Beat.
Aside from the pandemic, NHPI communities have a history of food insecurity compared to other ethnicities due to risk factors that include health and socioeconomic disparities or lack of access to healthier foods, according to a study.
HCF’s Strong Funds are a way to help the NHPI communities prepare, respond, and recover after disasters such as the pandemic or storms. The initiative was created to improve food security across vulnerable communities in Hawaiʻi, and revive cultural practices like fishing, taro farming, and education on food at the grassroots level.
“We need to make sure that our ʻohana can put food on the table during this pandemic,” OHA CEO Sylvia Hussey said in a press release. “But for many of our communities, the crisis is making it hard to access food at affordable prices. So we are working with [HCF] to support locally sourced food from area farmers and producers… Our hope is to help re-enforce the resiliency and strength of our communities.”
The OHA grants will help fund new projects that include the reestablishment a native forest in Oʻahu, provide education about canoe plants in Maui, and start an initiative on community taro farming in Kauai.
The grants will be distributed among the four counties under HCFʻs Strong Funds– Kauai Strong, Oʻahu Strong, Maui Strong, and Hawaiʻi Island Strong.
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Slug: Office of Hawaiian Affairs grant Hawaii Community Foundations Strong funds to improve food security and grassroots food production and sustainability
