Kau'i Pratt-Aquino
Kau'i Pratt-Aquino photographed by Dave Homcy, 5.30.2020
“The first week we launched the food drive there were hundreds of cars. I knew at that point, number one, what we were providing a necessity. It was a need. And then the second thought I had is that this food drive wasn't going to be enough, that they needed more support. I decided after that first drive, we needed to do more.”
Kau'i Pratt-Aquino is a mom, wife, small business owner, attorney, and seventh-generation resident of Ko'olaupoko who is committed to bettering the lives of all who live in her community and building a better world for her children and the generations to follow. Kau'i's over 17 years of experience in community work and grassroots advocacy rests on a working-class foundation. Her father was a veteran and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard worker for over three decades; her mother, Ronnie, was a local insurance agency employee and pillar of the community. Her parents' lifetime of hard, honest work to provide for their children inspired Kau'i's own journey to build on their legacy, pursue an education, and endeavor always to protect what is most important for families like hers: a healthy environment, economic opportunities for local families and closely-knit neighborhoods that embody the values in "aloha kekahi i kekahi" ("to love one another"). We caught up with Kau’i via Zoom on May 19, 2020 after witnessing (via social media) her actions to serve her community.
I've been following your posts on Facebook and have seen you in action helping push food out to your community while also working to keep small mom and pop businesses going. I'm curious what your involvement in food security and hunger relief was prior to the pandemic and what it looks like today. Were you even aware of how vulnerable your community was?
I’ve always felt strongly about food security. The State is dependent on imports in order to survive for food. I think the pandemic has highlighted how vulnerable Hawai’i is in this time of crisis. We're facing a food shortage.
We need to do more to support policies that actually allow Hawai’i the opportunity to produce our own food. My engagement specifically in this area has been through water advocacy. Like Uncle Cal tells everyone, ‘Whoever controls the water controls the future.’ It is what allows us to sustain ourselves for many purposes. One of those purposes is to grow food. I was already involved in different community projects, not at the center, but in a supportive role, like growing food in our community. Pre-pandemic we were having discussions about what a sustainable Hawai’i would look like and what kinds of policies I could support that would move us towards sustainability.
Moving into the pandemic, when our system started breaking down, when people were losing their jobs, when the unemployment system wasn't working, when we had to house our at-risk kūpuna… I started seeing a need for food security. Not only food security but the need to support small businesses in our community. They were shutting down or only able to operate at 50% capacity or less because everyone was going into isolation.
That's when I engaged Auntie Mona because she was directly impacted by the shutdown. We talked about how she could pivot to provide a central need to our community, and that's how the [original] Mālama Meals program was formed. That program was a complete success.
Kau’i Pratt-Aquino in action May 30, 2020.
“When we launched our first day, that was a real wake-up call. It was one of the biggest [food] drives we had ever had.”
Next, we moved to bring a food drive into our community. The process behind that was shaped by my role as chair of a public charter school. So we ran surveys to our schools to determine the needs of our families. And the surveys came back that our families were running out of food. They'd been laid off and they were in an emergency circumstance. So the school leadership got together, and we reached out to another partner organization to see if they would bring a food drive into our community. The community I'm raised in has never been identified as a mass food distribution site.
The people in our community are what we would call middle-class. But really, the middle class in this day and age are people who are typically living paycheck to paycheck. So they probably own their own home or if they're renting, their rent is probably over $1,600 a month or more- then suddenly they're laid off. They don't have any liquidity. They do not have any safe savings. That's the norm for our middle-class. So now they're being laid off from work, they're not being paid unemployment, the next thought is that they're not going to be able to provide for the basic needs of their family. That's how the food drive was born. When we launched our first day, that was a real wake-up call. It was one of the biggest drives we had ever had.
We had about 1500 people there, and they were middle-class families. I knew a lot of them, who were accessing the resource. When we thought about the food drive, initially it was imagined as a supplemental resource. After the first food drive, we realized that it was a necessity because these families were truly running out of food. That's why the frequency in offering food became weekly. Families are actually depending on us to provide them with most of their food.
“All I know is that every time we have a food drive, our distributions start at 1:30 pm. People are lining up at 10:00 AM and they're waiting until that time to get food.”
This week will be our sixth, and it was only last week that some of the people accessing the service reported having finally received their first payment from their unemployment benefits. So unemployment is finally starting to reach them, but I don't know what the impact is. All I know is that every time we have a food drive, our distributions start at 1:30 pm. People are lining up at 10:00 AM and they're waiting until that time to get food.
There's one story that sticks out. So the first week we launched the food drive there were hundreds of cars. I knew at that point, number one, what we were providing a necessity. It was a need. And then the second thought I had is that this food drive wasn't going to be enough, that they needed more support. I decided after that first drive, we needed to do more. So I contacted DHS to ask them if they could give us SNAP/EBT applications. In addition to running the food drives, we visited each car to make an assessment to see if they needed to apply for SNAP. Many had to access food stamps for the first time.
HHHRC staff and volunteers, 5.30.2020 Photo by Kau’i Pratt-Acquino
Can I ask you about that process? One of the things that has come up is that you can't apply for SNAP online. While that’s been difficult, the positive has been because you can't apply online, the system hasn't crashed like the unemployment website.
DHS staff are experts in processing hard copy applications. We give them an application. They head straight to the DHS office after they pick up their food, they drop off the application and it's done. I don't recommend any online application. Hand deliver it to the DHS.
Because DHS is doing a really good job at helping families, the processing time is like one or two days. That has been significant when you're dealing with a family who doesn't have liquidity anymore, they receive their benefits in around five days. So that's been really helpful.
There’s been a critique that our hunger relief efforts could have been executed more efficiently. One suggested model is to support existing restaurants to stay open, perhaps with a modified menu. Turning those restaurants into community feeding spots and through that model, keeping their supply chain in operation. How important was that to you, in your model of Mālama Meals? Not to pit anyone against each other, but we've seen another model, based on mass-producing meals from a single location and flying them out across the state.
Andrew Ogata and staff at Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center photographed by Kau’i Pratt-Aquino
I feel strongly about the Mālama Meals model that we implemented in our community. We were approached by the bigger Mālama Meals program to sign on to their work and after careful consideration of how they were implementing that program, we felt that their model didn't fit the needs of our community. So the model of Mālama Meals to me, and this is how strongly I feel about it, should be replicated in every community. The idea behind it is to support everyone in the community during the crisis. So Auntie Mona was shut down. She was adversely impacted by the Mayor’s order. We have private funders, I helped to provide seed money for the program to invest in her, and in turn, she provides a free service to vulnerable community members. Now, if we could replicate that model across Kāneʻohe, Kailua, I think that's the most sustainable model during this time.
Mass-producing meals in one location adversely impacts small businesses. By creating a for-profit entity, instead of using small businesses to provide that essential community need, you could potentially put them out of business too. So that's why, to this day, I still don't agree with that model. I believe that each community has its own assets and we need to leverage those assets and reform to meet essential needs.
“I understand that we can't completely take ourselves off of foreign imports. But if we can move the percentage, to like 15 or 20 percent solely dedicated to local farmers in our community, we could help, from the ground up, to move from our independence from imports.”
Kaipo Miller, Andrew Ogata and Kau’i Pratt-Aquino. Photography by Dave Homcy
There's such an opportunity here with hunger relief funding to do exactly what you've done, which is to support a small business which in turn fosters a resilient local system. The potential impacts are exponential.
The next iteration of that model should be to tighten up the chain. Move the needle on the percentage of imports that the small business uses towards local products. I do understand that we can't completely take ourselves off of foreign imports. But if we can move the percentage, to like 15 or 20 percent solely dedicated to local farmers in our community, we could help, from the ground up, to move from our independence from imports. Growing it from a small level and scaling up.
The other thing that we learned through the distribution is that we have a meat supply shortage. Over here on Oʻahu, we understand that there's been an over supply of fish. And so the bigger discussion I had during this pandemic is how can we use the pandemic as an opportunity to reset our diets. Minimizing red meat and supplementing with fish. Kuike says it best: ‘Eat What Get.’ Those are some of the conversations we’ve been having in favor of moving to a more sustainable diet.
“…farmers lack the capacity to engage in these larger discussions. They don't have the time. They're filled with so much knowledge to add to this bigger discussion, that we need them at the table.”
Another one of the conversations that we did have, is that farmers lack the capacity to engage in these larger discussions. They don't have the time. They're filled with so much knowledge to add to this bigger discussion, that we need them at the table. It's just that to get them to the table is hard. So if we can help them in some way have a greater voice in the conversation, that's really going to help move efforts forward.
“The bigger issue is how do we change the current consumer? So there's an overabundance of ‘ulu right now. How do we move a potato-based community to something sustainable but kind of similar?”
Like Davis is talking about the need to create the new consumer, but the bigger issue is how do we change the current consumer? So there's an overabundance of ‘ulu right now. How do we move a potato-based community to something sustainable but kind of similar? What are the existing plants, fruits, or starches in our community that can help them supplement their diets, but also where it's not so alien to them? So that they'll have an easier time moving to a sustainable diet that's locally grown. ‘Ulu is one of those things for sure. Even just teaching people how to cook it, demystifying it.
Kau’i Pratt-Aquino photographed by Dave Homcy
“The people who are leading that charge aren't part of the discussion. And that's concerning to me because I believe food security should be at the center of all discussions.”
Is there anything you're witnessing happen in the food system that you'd like to see stay in place when we get through this crisis?
There's so much work to be done. Where we are going regarding food security has to be one of the center components of the government's economic viability plan. Everything that I've seen so far demonstrates that the people who are leading that charge aren't part of the discussion. And that's concerning to me because I believe food security should be at the center of all discussions. I believe food security should be a centerpiece of the economic viability plan, how we move forward. I don't see that happening right now, so that's going to be problematic for us because it's another sign that if we continue to move this in this direction that we're probably going to get the same result that we started with: a reliance on tourism as one of the primary industries for Hawaii and we can't do that.
“…if we continue to move this in this direction that we're probably going to get the same result that we started with: a reliance on tourism as one of the primary industries for Hawaii and we can't do that.”
We can't go back to being dependent on tourism. So what's next? I'm hopeful that we are in an election year. I'm hoping that with new leadership that we'll be able to have those discussions, but if not, then I do believe communities have learned that this is a huge issue. My hope though from this experience is that people will start buying locally grown food and start growing their own stuff. And I think that will happen on some level as a result of the pandemic. People have a new appreciation for our farmers. I'm hoping that agencies and philanthropists understand the importance of investing in new systems to provide food for us because those are the primary people who are paying for all the food right now. If this experience didn't teach them that we need to do more for our local community, I'm hoping that they'll make an effort to really prioritize food security in Hawaii.
How do you see this moment in time, in Hawai’i, as being described in the history books of the future?
Let’s start with ‘vulnerable’. I feel like we're vulnerable because we've been given false security by the systems we’re dependent on. On the other side, I feel very hopeful that so many people have emerged to help one another. So that part I have been grateful for.
Last week, I had a mother with her five kids in the car. She was at her wit’s end and she broke down crying to me because she hadn’t been paid unemployment and she needed the food because they weren't going to make it. I couldn't sleep. I constantly thought about her because we could only do so much. But those are the kinds of people and stories that we see.
“I feel like we're vulnerable because we've been given false security by the systems we’re dependent on. On the other side, I feel very hopeful that so many people have emerged to help one another. So that part I have been grateful for.”
Kau’i and other volunteers at community food distribution 5.30.20. Photo by Dave Homcy
During one of the first food banks that we launched, this guy ran his car into the middle of the food bank. He got out of his car and started yelling at our police officers saying, “We need this. I don't have a job. My mom and dad, they're elderly. They don't work. They need food. My daughter died.” He made a big commotion because he needed food.T hose are the kinds of issues that we're facing on the ground.
“If we can’t meet the basic needs of our families, then that should be the top priority for any decision-maker in our state.”
If this continues, I foresee a wave of crime coming. It's not because our people are bad people, but you have to put yourself in their predicament if they are not able to put food on their table. I know for a fact a lot of these families have not made their mortgage, have not made their rent. They're behind on utilities. The resources coming out of government and the stimulus payment was spent long before families received it. If they're not able to meet their basic needs, what else are they going to do? I'm not justifying it, but there is a chance that there could be some crime that comes.
The current leadership structure is disconnected from understanding the needs of our community. How do we know that? Because unemployment wouldn't have been broken for two months. They would understand that our people are already living paycheck to paycheck. That would have been the most important priority- to fix that system to ensure that people had liquidity in order to support their basic needs. The fact that the system has been dwindling for this long, is a good indication that our current leaders have no idea what is happening on the ground.
That's the number one illustration of the disconnect between leadership and the issues happening on the ground in our community. We’re vulnerable. We are running a parallel system at this point.
The food distribution emerged out of a community desire to help. At the time we launched, which was early April, the need was apparent at that point. People were in dire need at that point. We are now in May.
Kau’i Pratt-Aquino photographed by Dave Homcy
There needs to be better coordination with the resources that we have. I believe that we need to make a better effort to allocate lands to be able to produce food. Farmers need support. We need to give them the opportunity to do what they do best. They always get the short end of the stick cause they're not considered important. Because of this mentality of ‘ let's just depend on the ship to bring us food.’ No, that's not how it works. We need to lift up that profession and do more for them.
How can the community help?
Invest in our local farmers; buy food from them.
Who are your COVID food heroes?
Kuike will always be my number one. So here's the conclusion regarding the food drive. It's unsustainable. We can't continue to do that. This is only for the crisis. We need to move to a more sustainable system. All food drives across Hawai’i are not sustainable. Hot meals are not sustainable. Free hot meals, not sustainable. We cannot continue to support a system like that, but it can help to fill the gap now. Kuike is one of my heroes because while we're doing food bank distribution, he's in the ocean grabbing food for his family or picking some plant, which is the model we want to be able to promote, so that families can be sustainable.
Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center and the Hawaii Food Bank are heroes in this time. Hands down. They're leading the way with distributing food to high risk communities across the state. I’m so grateful for their support.
Blueline Solutions Hawaii, a team of active and retired police officers, who work with us are also my heroes. They show up every Friday to help us manage the food drive because they care about our community. They are highly trained officers in the areas of security, SWAT and bomb technology. They see the need every time. And I'm so appreciative for their support. They’re not your typical food sovereignty kind of people, but they're our heroes.
Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center is probably the most progressive agency out there. They primarily hire LGBTQ and serve the highest need communities in Hawaii well. So think about that. It is not often you see a partnership like this, but yet, we all work well together. It's amazing.
Staff and Head of School at Hakipuu Academy and all the volunteers who show up at each distribution site are unsung heroes. The sites are staffed by volunteers. Without them, distribution could not be possible.