At Hawai‘i Public Health Institute (HIPHI), we are dedicated to cultivating resilience through our work supporting local food systems. Our mission is to nurture good food and sustainable land stewardship for Hawaiʻi, ensuring that there is access to nutritious food through sustainable options that support our people and the planet.
Vision/Mission
Cultivating Resilience: nurture good food and sustainable land stewardship for Hawaiʻi.
Our Approach
- Enhancing Food Access: We believe that everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, deserves access to healthy and culturally appropriate food. Through partnerships and community-driven initiatives, we work to increase food access for vulnerable groups across the islands.
Learn more about the WIC ʻOhana Makeke program in this article.
- Supporting Sustainable Food Production: Sustainability is at the heart of our efforts. We support and enable sustainable food production practices in areas with the highest rates of food insecurity. By promoting regenerative agriculture and environmentally friendly farming techniques, we aim to create a resilient food system that can withstand the challenges of climate change and other environmental pressures.
Discover the Hui Mala ‘Ai Food Garden at Lahainaluna High School in this article.
Explore the Community Garden in Public Housing project through our updates from June 2024 and December 2024. - Promoting Local Food Sources: We advocate for the importance of local food sources in building healthier communities. By encouraging the consumption of locally grown and produced foods, we not only support the local economy but also promote healthier diets and reduce the prevalence of food-related diseases.
- Empowering Communities: Community involvement is key to building a more sustainable food system. We facilitate network building and community education initiatives to empower individuals and organizations to actively participate in shaping the future of food in Hawaiʻi. Through workshops, events, and educational resources, we aim to build a community of informed and engaged advocates for food justice and sustainability.
- Informing Action Through Planning, Research, and Tools: We work closely with community partners and consultants to develop research, assessments, and practical tools that inform action and strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food system. These efforts translate community knowledge and data into accessible resources that support program design, policy conversations, and on-the-ground implementation. Our work includes the Food 4 Keiki School Pantry Toolkit in collaboration with Hawai’i Foodbank, the Guidebook for Creating a Resident Community Garden in Collaboration with the Hawai’i Public Housing Authority, the Farm to Foodbank & Gleaning Assessment (Full Report and Executive Summary), and the Food Systems Sustainability Plan (Full Report and Executive Summary), all designed to advance resilient, and locally rooted food systems across the islands.
- Building the social infrastructure for food-system change in Hawaiʻi through the Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together initiative, in collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu Sustainable Community Food Systems (SCFS) Program. HIPHI serves as the fiscal sponsor and manages key initiative activities.
Watch the Roundtable Discussion—Our Health, Our Food Systems, Our Islands, Our People—here.
Innovative Collaborations
Resources
What we eat has a huge impact on our health. What kind of food is available and affordable? Why is locally produced food more expensive and less accessible than imported food? How can we eat better?
Food systems are complex. Multiple social and economic factors affect the availability and access to food. At the household level, food access is related to income, health literacy and culture. At the level of society, food access is related to economic and environmental policy as well as the commercial drivers of food culture. The food system can create or destroy health.
Poor diets have been a key risk factor for premature death and diminished quality of life from obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cancer in Hawaiʻi for many years. Unhealthy diets are cheaper and more accessible. Typically these diets have high caloric content but low nutritive value – characterized by processed food that has excessive sugar, salt and trans-fatty acids.
Access to healthier food choices that are locally produced addresses food insecurity as well as nutrition needs of the people in ways that are culturally appropriate and sustainable. Food system-related diseases can only be prevented through transformation of the food system.
The Hawaiian Islands are home to one of the most geographically isolated and food-import dependent populations in the world. It is estimated that Hawaiʻi imports close to 90% of its food. At any given time, Hawaiʻi has a 5-7 day food supply.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought Hawaiʻi close to a food crisis, when the shipment of food tethered as supplier ports in the continental United States closed down. This sparked unprecedented concern, interest and action to do something about the vulnerability of our food system. Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic and mindful of future pandemics, as well as the threat of climate change, the food system must be protected in order to prevent a complete disruption of the food chain – that would have severe consequences on health and well-being.
There is a disproportionate burden of food insecurity among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, Asian-Americans and low-income groups. Economic and social disparities are significant drivers of food insecurity. Vulnerable groups are at greater risk for hunger, malnutrition, obesity and poor health. There is a disproportionate burden of food insecurity on low income groups, Native Hawaiians, Pacific islanders and Filipinos.
Food security for a household means access by all members at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. (USDA, 2021). Food security includes at a minimum:
- The ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.
- Assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies).
HIPHI has led improvement in health outcomes in Hawaiʻi through policy, advocacy, community partnerships and action on a number of fronts, since 1996. We are a “hub for health” – bringing together multiple stakeholders to work together toward improved health outcomes, particularly for the most vulnerable.
The COVID-19 pandemic unmasked huge disparities in food access and called for immediate action to mitigate hunger and worsening of chronic disease, rendering visibility to the underlying reasons behind food insecurity in the state.
Through the Food Systems and Resiliency Program of HIPHI, we confront the challenge of food insecurity as a public health concern requiring urgent action. The program zeroes in on the issue of food access at the intersection of what we grow and what we eat.
As in many parts of the country, in Hawaiʻi, what we grow is not what we eat, and what we eat is not what we grow. A dependence on imported food has distorted the nutritional balance of our diets.
Our program focuses on universal food access as a public health goal, at the same time we work closely with sectors that are engaged in food availability and food safety.
Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together (THFST) Playlist
Get Involved
Join us in our mission to cultivate resilience in Hawaiʻi’s food systems. Whether you’re interested in volunteering, attending events, or learning more about sustainable food practices, there are many ways to get involved. Together, we can create a future where everyone has access to nutritious food and the opportunity to thrive. Reach out to our Food System staff to talk story!
