Kūpuna Food Security Coalition secures additional funding to support community-based food systems and aging in place

The Kūpuna Food Security Coalition (KFSC) launched a Request for Proposals last month to support community-led projects on neighbor islands that: 1) address immediate kūpuna food security needs, and 2) build up long-term capacity of local food systems to sustain kūpuna health and support aging in place. This grant was made possible by the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, whose support for the KFSC throughout the pandemic was instrumental in getting healthy food and meals into the hands of kūpuna across Oʻahu.

Thanks to the support of the Stupski Foundation, an organization committed to ensuring that communities lead the way to increase food security for low-income community members, especially people of color and residents of low-income ZIP codes, the KFSC has doubled the amount of funds available under this RFP to support neighbor island partners. Combined with additional funding that is expected for Oʻahu-based initiatives, the KFSC will be supporting community partners in all four counties across the state.

The proposal submission window for the RFP is now closed, and awarded grantees will be announced later this month. HIPHI is honored to continue to provide backbone support for the KFSC, allocate resources to underserved communities, and kākoʻo community-driven projects that make Hawaiʻi a better place for our kūpuna to thrive.

The KFSC is part of an age-friendly incubator for innovation called the Kūpuna Collective, consisting of a strategic network of coalitions that seek to address the interconnected social drivers of health affecting kūpuna. For more information on the KFSC or the Kūpuna Collective, contact Lindsey Ilagan (lindsey@hiphi.org) or Christy Nishita (cnishita@hawaii.edu).