Davis Price
Pictured: Davis Price
Photographer: Dave Homcy
“What I hope is that it's described as a story of heroism, born out of this crisis, that can change the world.”
What was life like pre-COVID, and what does it look like now?
I’m the Community Outreach Manager for OHA, which is a team of 17 people that cover all the major islands. We run a lot of different programs that are focused on engagement, empowerment, culturally-based workshops, and connecting people with different services. [...] Iʻve always hoped that we could build stronger connections to ‘āina-based programs, especially those that are centered around food production and food systems change. Prior to COVID our community outreach efforts had limited connections to food producers. Here and there, we would support or host events and try to engage ʻāi pono (healthy/local) food vendors, but it was limited.
Volunteers at Living Way Church prepared healthy meals and care packages for delivery to Kūpuna in central Maui
However, food is key in our culture, food production is key to many efforts aimed at restoring ʻāina and rebuilding communities. So its something that was always on the radar, and we hoped we could strengthen those connections in our communities. When COVID hit, we recognized that food security would be an issue. [...]and our staff immediately went out into their communities, to identify service providers on all the islands who were responding to the need for food. Over the course of about a week, we were able to assemble a list of service providers and small businesses that were were responding to the needs in their communities by running meals or CSA distribution efforts. We saw that there as a great need to be fulfilled to get meals to our kūpuna. So we launched an effort that included a network of 15 service providers, vendors, and community organizations that have been supplying approximately 2,800 meals per week to kūpuna across Hawaiʻi for the last 3 months. I hope that this effort is helping to localize supply chains in these communities between farmers, vendors, and service providers and can become building blocks for food security and economic stability for these communities even beyond this pandemic.
“We have supply AND demand issues. Why? Because we feed 10 million additional bellies every year [due to tourism], of course we're going to have supply and demand issues.”
What food system vulnerabilities have been exposed through this crisis?
Good question. A couple of things come to mind. Accessibility is obviously an issue; people are stuck at home, so that that limits access. The most glaring gap that has been magnified as a result of COVID is the capacity for our food distribution channels to connect our local food sources to households.
With OHA’s Kaiāulu meals program, the first step was identifying service providers and vendors. We identified caterers, restaurants, and the nonprofit distribution hubs that popped up to respond to their communities’. Amazing networking and collaboration occurred at the community level to get food directly to those who were in need and we wanted to support that. Our goal was to address the immediate need of getting meals to kūpuna that were most vulnerable, but we also wanted to do so in a way that could possibly create sustainable models for the longer term. So we injected the resources at the manufacturer/distribution level, these are the caterers, small businesses, and community distribution sites. We did so with the hope that we could encourage those entities to work with local food producers, such as their local farmers or fishermen from their own communities and empower localized distribution and supply chains.
I think what's been brought to light is how significant food systems are as an economic driver in our community, and the potential that we have to make them an even more significant economic driver.
“What COVID has done is show us what our actual local food demand is. Now we can focus on tailoring distribution channels to our community needs and ensuring local food gets to our local households.”
Because OHA’s specific mission is to serve [Native] Hawaiians, how does that affect the way support is distributed?
Kūpuna care packages being prepared by volunteers from Living Way Church on Maui.
Most of the organizations that we're partnering with serve a broad swath of our community, not just Native Hawaiians. We do track the number of Native Hawaiians served, however none of the meals efforts that OHA has supported have been limited to Native Hawaiians only. Most of the efforts across the state have been leveraging resources, both financial and staff/volunteers from multiple sources. This is actually a great example of how OHA support is leveraged to kōkua our entire community. When something is good for Hawaiians, its good for everyone.
Is there anything else you see occurring now that you would like to see remain in place when we get to the other side of this?
I would like to see the type of support that institutions are currently providing for food programs continue. There are a number of efforts focused on food, because it's survival. Now, everyone's recognizing that you cannot take food for granted. I would like to see that type of support continue, but in a very directed way that empowers local food systems, that empowers community-based food hubs or distribution sites where farmers and other food producers such as fisherman, can process food and get it to our local communities. Food production goes hand-in-hand with mālama ʻāina, we can’t have one without the other. Thus, its time to really make those efforts synergize and develop local economies around those efforts. This will require investment, strategic planning, and meaningful buy-in from institutions.
Kūpuna care packages being prepared by volunteers from Living Way Church on Maui.
For years, we have heard that local food supply can’t meet the demand. Well COVID has also highlighted this fallacy. We have land, we have farmers, we have fishermen, we could use more farmers, definitely. But that is not the issue, we don’t have a supply issue. This is narrative that preserves status quo business models. We have supply AND demand issues. Why? Because we feed 10 million additional bellies every year [due to tourism], of course we're going to have supply and demand issues.
What COVID has done is show us what our actual local food demand is. Now we can focus our distribution channels, our energy, and our human and technological resources to getting food to the local households, into our kūpuna meals programs, to our schools, to our hospitals, and to the prisons. Taking tourism out of the equation has forced a re-calibration, and that means reshaping our food systems by centering them on local consumers.
One huge opportunity we have is the DOE. The DOE has a 100% local consumer base, so any food that goes to the schools is for local consumption. And they have purchasing power. They should be the engine behind empowering these localized supply chains. The ʻĀina Pono Initiative and the Hawaiʻi Farm to School Hui have been working at this for a number of years now, its time for the masses to really get behind these efforts and make it happen.
This is how we can build an economy that puts ʻāina and community first. Producing food produces jobs, it produces healthy communities, and it can produce healthy ʻāina. We can sustain ourselves and then some, it's not perfected yet, but that's the opportunity that we have right now.
“The issues are broad. And I think if we're going to find success in the advocacy component, we have to start breaking this down and seeing where we can take bites of the apple.”
Volunteers with Mālama Kauaʻi have been working with multiple farms on Kauaʻi to pack hundreds of CSAʻs filled with locally grown produce and deliver to kūpuna every week.
There's another narrative that I keep hearing, especially from clients: We are growing amazing, nutrient-rich, beautiful food, and we're serving it all to the tourists.
Part of the issue is our consumer-end habits. That's another silver lining here, people are going to have to buy more local now. Ultimately, if we can empower the local distribution channels to make local food more accessible, I think there's more than enough demand out there, that the consumers will buy it.
And I'm not talking about farmer's markets. I donʻt think that is sustainable, it puts too much burden on the small businesses while trying to compete with grocery stores and big box stores. Donʻt get me wrong, farmerʻs markets are needed and are great, but more needs to be done.
This has to be multi-pronged. If the DOE is a big buyer, then you're getting local food to the table, and training the kids to eat right. That also builds a long-term customer base for locally grown products. It just seems like common sense that sustainable models have to include big buyers who are providing for the local consumer. And those are the State institutions and private schools that provide to a 100% local consumer base.
The issues are broad. And I think if we're going to find success in the advocacy component, we have to start breaking this down and seeing where we can take bites of the apple. Those bites start with institution backed meals programs.
“I see a story of resilience and victory for communities that have been in desperate need of change.”
How do you see this crisis that we're going through now being described in the history books of the future?
Volunteer with Living Way.
What I hope is that it's described as a story of heroism, born out of this crisis, that can change the world. To be a bit more clear, I see a story of resilience and victory for communities that have been in desperate need of change. Whether they knew it or not, they needed to have their voices amplified and heard, and I see that happening. The result of that will be an immense positive impact on people who were ignored, under-served, and underrepresented. There will be amazing success stories that come out of it.
What can the community do to help?
I think the community should seek out local food producers and distributors and try to purchase local as much as possible. If they have a family member in need of meals, they should be connected with one of these programs. OHA has 15 service provider partners across Hawai’i. Pretty much every geographical region on every island has a point of entry for people to go if they need help.
But even if you don't need help – if you are blessed enough to be working and your ice box is stocked up, then buy local. And volunteer, find out where the meal distribution efforts such as kūpuna meals programs or the food banks are happening in your community and donate or volunteer. Identify these distribution points and ask how you can help.
Be part of the change. Write letters to your local school principal, to your state representatives, to your councilperson. Tell them to work with these local food producers and community organizations. Tell them you want more access to local food in your community.
“Be part of the change. Write a letters to your school principals, to your state representatives, to you councilperson. Tell them you want more access to local food in your community.”
Who are your local food heroes?
Tammy Smith of Hale Kealoha. She's a chef. She's always feeding our lāhui. She does kūpuna meals programs regularly. They were one of the first organizations to kick into gear and respond to a broader need for prepared meals in our community. She’s been doing meals for charter schools out of love... she's been feeding the charter school movement for 20 years. She's a leader. Those are the kind of leaders we have to follow. [...] That said, we need our institutions and decisions makers to engage, not just hire Aunty Tammy when there are events and such. We should be sitting down with her and saying, “How do we expand this? How do we make your efforts more sustainable? How do we create a model that can be taken to other communities? How do we create Aunty Tammy’s in every community?”
Thank you so much for your time and work. Stay safe and take care.