Nicole Milne is director of the Hawaii Good Food Fund at Hawaii Good Food Alliance (hawaiigoodfoodalliance.org).
Proponents of a more sustainable, resilient Hawaii are strategizing how to attract more grant money for the local agricultural sector.
When the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan was first created in 2008, former Gov. George Ariyoshi at the time talked about the need to think in terms of not only several years but generations when it came to a sustainable future. Even then, the plan estimated that only 15% of food consumed was locally grown.
Fast-forward to today, not much has changed. Hawaii still relies on importing about 85% of its food and depends on a precarious just-in-time delivery system.
According to the Aloha+ Challenge Local Food dashboard, achieving the state’s goal of doubling local food production by 2030 would require more access to land and labor resources for farming, ranching, processing and distribution, along with lower costs of food so consumers can afford to eat local.
A key element to making all of this happen is the dire need for funding, something many in the food system struggle to obtain. Whether it’s due to debt, limited credit, language barriers, or lack of time, the process of securing grants and loans only adds to the burden of farmers and other food producers who already work long hours.
Grant Writers Offer Return On Investment
Recognizing these challenges, Ulupono Initiative supported a solution to help the industry through a grant-writing program.
Between 2014 and 2023, Ulupono funded three general agriculture/food grant writers, along with a few one-off grant writers for specific proposals. The funding provided a full- or part-time grant writer to organizations like The Kohala Center on Hawaii Island.
Ulupono has invested more than $1.4 million in grant writing positions with The Kohala Center and others that brought to Hawaii a total of approximately $140 million — with the two largest grants being the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities, which brought in $40 million, and the USDA’s Regional Food Business Center, which brought in $30 million.
For its part, The Kohala Center focused on accessing USDA resources for farmers and food producers, including helping businesses prepare to qualify for grants through technical assistance. The center’s program was not widely advertised, but they continue to see a high demand for grant services.
Looking forward, proponents of a more sustainable and resilient Hawaii are strategizing how to attract more grant dollars for our local agricultural sector.
The Hawaii Good Food Alliance is in the process of building a Hawaii Good Food Fund to support farmers in Hawaii. Currently in a planning period, the Hawaii Good Food Fund’s goal is to provide funding to farmers for technical assistance and matching grants, which can help de-risk and unlock concessionary and commercial capital.
A Sound Use Of Taxpayer Dollars
Another way to grow success in securing federal grant opportunities for Hawaii ag is the creation of grant-writer positions within the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. This legislative session, House Bill 2134, a measure related to agriculture, aims to support the funding of grant positions and has gained support from both the House and Senate agriculture chairs.
The introduction of grant writers within HDOA’s team is expected to result in a swift return on investment. This strategic move will empower the state to strengthen its competitive edge, successfully acquire, and effectively utilize federal funding, particularly accessing grants exclusive to government entities.
With more grant writers in HDOA and other local food organizations statewide, we can expect to see more support for infrastructure, including both equipment and programs, improved accessibility to key resources, and the ability for the food system to thrive and endure. Farmers, ranchers, and aquaculture operations would be able to scale up to commercial profitability. Plus, bringing in more federal funds could help offset the cost to the state, so these grant-writer positions represent a sound investment and use of tax-payer dollars.
Most significantly, the role of grant writers transcends mere paperwork completion; their engagement is deeply personal, extending to a diverse clientele ranging from coffee and strawberry farmers to poi makers and cooperatives.
These roles necessitate the cultivation of robust relationships and trust. These provide the fertile foundation from which our ag sector can be sustained, as Gov. Ariyoshi urged, beyond mere years.
Undoubtedly, the impact will resonate across generations.
“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.
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Ah, the latest masterstroke in Hawaii's quest for food self-sufficiency: more grant writers! Because, clearly, the secret ingredient missing from our agricultural recipe was a dash of bureaucracy. Who needs actual farmers toiling away when we can cultivate a lush field of paperwork and proposals?Let's gloss over minor details like "feasible plans" or "realistic goals." Why get tangled in the weeds of practicality when we can float on the lofty clouds of federal funding? It's comforting to know we're tackling the 85% food import issue not with soil and water, but with pens and grants.Introducing grant writers into the Department of Agriculture is pure genius. Nothing screams "agricultural revolution" quite like more office jobs. Forget about planting seeds; let's grow our ambitions on paper!In the spirit of modern solutions, why bother with the mundane task of farming when we can harvest a bumper crop of government dollars? Here's to the future of Hawaii's food sustainability, may it flourish in the fertile bureaucracy.
HauulaHaole·
10 months ago
We need cheap arable non-contaminated land with access to irrigation, processing facilities, and markets. Grants add layers of bureaucracy just to support a salary class and keep asset prices inflated.
YouKnowTheThing·
10 months ago
I fully support this idea and can say from experience in the ag industry that grants can provide a number of benefits. Year after year, Hawaii misses out on many diverse opportunities for funding. Farmers in particular are not in a position to write grants for themselves. Not only does writing the grant proposal take a lot of time, but thereʻs usually a number of other documents to submit, specific websites to use, and the need for technical writing skills that truly only grows with time. Grants are not just for start up operations, projects that are fully or partially grant funded can be built on, and success at meeting deliverables leads to a proven track record that helps to attract more and often other kinds of investment.
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