Hirono, Tokuda visit Food Basket ag campus, stress need for sustainable food

By KELSEY WALLING Hawaii Tribune-Herald | Monday, August 21, 2023, 12:05 a.m.

The goal of a sustainable Hawaii keeps hope alive in the wake of tragedy.

U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono and U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda visited Hilo for a ceremony celebrating the Hawaii Island Food Basket’s new agricultural campus.

Hirono has been visiting farmers and organizations across Hawaii that are working toward making the state more food sustainable, which is something she has advocated for federally.

Recently, Hirono was able to obtain $2.4 million from federal funds for Malama Kauai’s future food hub, which will create one of the largest farming clusters on Kauai and promote the education and facilitation of local agriculture.

The Hawaii Island Food Basket contracted Backyard Monkey to clear a portion of its 24.5 acres of land meant for its agricultural innovation campus in Hilo.

The Food Basket Executive Director Kristin Frost Albrecht showed the plans for the campus, which aims to help alleviate food insecurity, lift barriers to pursuing agriculture, and respond to the current economic downturn by providing the capital needed to create a robust agricultural economy.

The campus will include a community food center and food bank, an innovation center for local product manufacturing and distribution, agricultural land for crops, an agricultural support office and a community center that will bridge the gap between providers and the community they serve.

After a blessing from Kumu Moses Crabbe, Hirono and Tokuda helped plant the first five canoe plants that will grow on the property.

Following a visit to Maui a few days ago, both Hirono and Tokuda spoke about the importance of continuing to strive for sustainability to help address vulnerabilities specific to Hawaii.

“Food sustainability has been something I’ve been supporting for a long time now and during a small business hearing on agriculture, some federal agencies have now heard about the vulnerabilities of Hawaii,” Hirono said. “This is very much on our minds now as we really mourn what’s happening on Maui. We will need to rebuild and part of that is the importance of agriculture, sustainability and resilience.”

Hirono has supported the Food Basket’s Da Bux program through federal funds, which has made the reach of the program more widespread, according to Frost Albrecht.

Tokuda recently introduced the Grow Your Own Food Act to expand micro-grants for the Food Security Program. The program assists agricultural departments in eligible states and territories to increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food in food insecure communities.

“All of this here, this is hope. No matter where you live, we are connected to Maui and this is what hope looks like,” Tokuda said. “The ability to feed ourselves, one of the most basic things. Being able to teach others to feed themselves, to grow and be innovative. This campus, this day, the ability to plant these crops is so wonderful.”

Tokuda plans to keep up the work in Washington and advocate for Hawaii, especially as the only member of Hawaii’s Delegation to hold a seat on the Agriculture Committee.

“(Sen. Hirono) and I will go back to D.C. and work like hell, just like you folks are, to make sure you have money, resources, and support needed to keep these efforts up,” Tokuda said while speaking to the Food Basket. “You’re feeding families and giving everyone hope, so please know you have strong partners in us.”

While emphasizing the need to grow the local food sources in the state, Sen. Hirono also mentioned the importance of preparing for these surprising, devastating weather events.

“We need to address how we can fight wildfires, because we will see more of those kind of weather events. With more frequency, more damage follows. We need to be better prepared to prevent and mitigate,” Hirono said. “A large part of that is having lands dedicated to agriculture, managing the land and having love for our aina.

”That is represented here. Food for our people and constant caring for the land,” Hirono continued.

The Food Basket is hoping to start the process of building soon, but for now, will develop the agricultural land for crops.

The Food Basket is encouraging people to donate directly to Maui Food Bank to help with their relief and recovery. They are also acting as a fiscal sponsor to Pilina Relief Fund, which is to support a hui of pilots airdropping supplies into Maui.

More information on The Food Basket, or those interested in donating can do so at hawaiifoodbasket.org.

Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com