Action Alert: So Many Good Food & Ag Bills to Support!
So Many Good Food & Ag Bills to Support!
Farm to Families
Improved RUP Reporting
Ag Workforce Housing
Organic Waste Diversion
Free School Meals
Several good food systems bills have hearings scheduled for Monday, March 10th and on Tuesday, March 11th, see details below.
Support Farm to Families; RUP Reporting &
Ag Housing-Testimony Due Sunday
The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment will hear multiple good food systems bills on Monday, March 10th at 1:01pm in Conference Room 224 and via video conference. Testimony is due Sunday, March 9th and 1:00pm, but late testimony is still accepted. Please take a moment to submit testimony in support!
Support HB428 HD1: Farm to Families
Did you know that one in three households in Hawaiʻi reports experiencing food insecurity? Take a moment to support a bill addressing the staggering increase in food insecurity while also supporting our local farmers and producers.
What Does This Bill Do?
Establishes the Hawaiʻi Farm to Families Program to alleviate food shortages in the State. Connects food insecure households with locally grown and produced food.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Please support HB428 HD1. The statistics around food insecurity in Hawaii are staggering. One in three households in Hawaiʻi 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 HB1497 HD1: RUP Reporting System (w/ amendments)
What Does This Bill Do?
which requires and appropriates funds for the Department of Agriculture to develop an online reporting tool for restricted use pesticide reporting. Appropriates funds to convert temporary environmental health specialist III positions into permanent positions.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Pesticide exposure from off target drift can cause significant harm to public health and the environment. Restricted use pesticides have been deemed to have a high potential to cause harm to surrounding communities, farm workers, pollinators, the environment, and other crops. As such, comprehensive pesticide use data is essential to accurately assess risks and ensure that communities are protected from adverse impacts. The US regulatory system often acts after an overwhelming amount of harm has occurred and been proven through long-term studies.
Providing an online reporting portal is an important step towards streamlining the RUP reporting process, however we suggest the following amendments to increase public transparency and to require a geographic specificity of reporting that will allow for credible public health studies. Therefore we suggest the following amendments:
Suggested Amendments:
Include provisions which require reporting of RUP usage within a square mile to provide more geographic specificity and consistency. California currently requires reporting within a square mile.
Make the online reporting data available to the public and reported out by square mile, per California regulations.
Please support HB1497 HD1.
Support HB1294 HD2: Agricultural Workforce Housing
What Does This Bill Do?
Establishes an Agricultural Workforce Housing Working Group within the Department of Agriculture to address the shortage and challenges of agricultural workforce housing in the State. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Farmer housing in Hawaiʻi is needed to address the affordable housing crisis and support the state's agricultural workforce. The stability of the agricultural workforce is important for food security in Hawaii. The stability of farmer housing is critical to growing Hawaiʻi’s local food security. Given the complexity of navigating state and county regulations, a working group is a first step to identifying how to navigate viable solutions.
Support Organic Waste Diversion - Testimony due Monday
A bill to divert organic waste has a joint hearing of the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday, March 11th at 3:00pm in Conference Room 016 and via Videoconference. Testimony is due 24 hours in advance.
Support HB751 HD2: Organic Waste Diversion
What Does This Bill Do?
Establishes statewide goals for solid waste reduction and organic waste diversion. Requires each county to incorporate into its next integrated solid waste management plan revision a plan to divert certain organic waste generated within the county in alignment with established state benchmarks.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
The responsible management of organic waste is a critical part of our long term waste management for Hawaiʻi. Our islands only have so much capacity and land mass to accommodate additional landfills and their environmental impacts.
HB751 will reduce landfill waste, increase composting, address climate change and support regenerative agriculture. By diverting organic material from landfills we save this resource and generate valuable compost. This can divert up to 54% of household waste from the landfill and create rich fertilizer for healthy, nutritious plants.
Please support HB751 HD2.
Support Free School Meals - Testimony due Monday
A bill to provide free school meals for students of ALICE families has a hearing in the House Committee on Education on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at 2 p.m. in Conference Room 309 and via videoconference. Testimony is due 24 hours in advance.
Support SB1300 SD1: Free School Meals for ALICE Families (w/ amendments)
What Does This Bill Do?
Appropriates funds to the Department of Education for meal subsidies for students whose families are classified as asset limited, income constrained, employed (ALICE) households.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Free school meals will ensure that no child goes hungry during the school day. One in three households in Hawaii report food insecurity, and almost half (46%) of ALICE households reported food insecurity. Two out of three financially vulnerable families in our state are ineligible for free school meals. Implementing free school meals for all can provide food security to students who may otherwise not eat at all. Access to healthy meals ensures better learning outcomes for students.
Suggested Amendment:
While providing access to free school meals for ALICE families is important we suggest that the bill be amended to provide free school meals for all students.
Please support SB1300 SD1 to reduce food insecurity for our keiki!
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!
