Post Legislative Session Recap: Fair & Sustainable Food Systems
A big mahalo to each of you who took time to submit testimony in support of HAPA’s Fair & Sustainable Food Systems policy agenda this session. We are excited to report that HAPA subscribers consistently provided the majority of testimony for all the alerts we sent out! While change can be slow in this arena, each year our collective voice grows and we move closer to building the critical mass needed to prioritize a food system that nourishes, stewards our ecological systems for abundance, and is rooted in ‘Ōiwi knowledge and values.
The legislative session adjourned on May 2nd. We have an update for you below on how HAPA’s Fair & Sustainable Food Systems agenda fared and what bills are now awaiting the Governor’s signature or veto.
Food System Wins:
Lawmakers Prioritized Bills to Address Hunger:
Of all the bills on HAPA’s Fair & Sustainable Food Systems Agenda, our Food Equity priorities were the bright spot this session. Given that one in three households in Hawaiʻi report food insecurity, and that the federal administration is proposing massive cuts to community feeding programs to fund tax cuts for billionaires, the need to address hunger in Hawaiʻi is extremely urgent. Thankfully, lawmakers passed multiple bills to combat food insecurity.
Highlights include:
Free School Meals: The passage of SB1300 will fund Free School Meals for the keiki of families earning up to 300% of the Federal Poverty Limit.
Farm to Families: Lawmakers inserted an appropriation for the procurement of local food by food banks into the budget. The initiative, now called Farm to Foodbank, received $500K per year for two years. This will provide food insecure residents with nutritious food and support our local farmers!
Funding for SNAP: SB960 will provide funds to DHS to increase SNAP staffing and pay levels to help ensure the program can meet the need in the community.
A huge shout out to our lead advocate partners at the Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute (HIPHI), Hawaiʻi Appleseed and the Hawaiʻi Food Bank for conducting the research and for organizing a broad coalition or partners. There was a huge and well organized groundswell of support, especially for free school meals this session.
Comprehensive Food Systems Planning Passes:
After years of advocacy, lawmakers finally did prioritize the creation of a Hawaiʻi-wide comprehensive food systems planning effort. A food system-wide plan can help to develop strategies for tackling a range of interconnected challenges: decreasing food insecurity and dependence on imports, disaster preparedness, land access for farmers and more. Shout out to Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food Systems Together for continuing to advocate for this kind of comprehensive and long-term planning!
Farm to School Procurement:
Given the DOE’s dismal progress in meeting farm to school goals of sourcing 30% local food in school meals by 2023, lawmakers passed a bill to exempt purchases of under $250K of local produce and edible packaged food products from the DOE’s electronic procurement system. After years of failed bills attempting to course correct Hawaiʻi’s failing Farm to School efforts, only time will tell if this approach helps to move the needle. In the future we hope that lawmakers will also consider policy fixes that decentralize procurement to make it easier for schools to purchase food from regional producers.
Increased Support for Biosecurity:
Although not on our policy agenda this year, we did want to highlight lawmakers' efforts to prioritize biosecurity this session through the passage of a large omnibus bill that includes a $26M appropriation to address invasive species. Hopefully this is not too little too late given how extensive the biosecurity threats to our food system have grown in recent years.
Food System Fails:
Key Pesticide Protections Passed in the Senate, Failed in the House:
Despite an abundance of compelling research and data to support increased public health protections, HAPA’s pesticide protection bills failed once again. However our bill to increase restricted use pesticide (RUP) buffer zones around schools and parks did pass through the Senate for the first time in years. Sadly, none of our priority bills even received a hearing in the House.
Support for Food Producers, Regenerative Ag and ITEK Largely Failed:
Most of our other bills supporting producers, regenerative agriculture and indigenous traditional ecological knowledge (ITEK) in our policy agenda failed. As federal cuts to USDA funds such as the climate smart commodities program are already causing harmful impacts in Hawaiʻi, it was a huge missed opportunity. Now more than ever, state lawmakers should prioritize efforts to sustainably increase our local food production. It is important to note that our Department of Agriculture’s budget is less than 1% of the total state budget. If we are going to get serious about supporting our local producers and growing our local food economy, the sector will need to be better incentivized and resourced.
What's Next?
The Governor's intent to veto list is released on the 35th day after the legislature adjourns. In 2025, this deadline is June 24, 2025. The Governor has until July 9, 2025 (the 45th day after adjournment) to deliver the final veto. Stay tuned, we’ll keep you updated!
Mahalo for taking action!
The HAPA Team
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!
