In an effort to improve access to healthy, nutritious and local food on the Big Island, the state Department of Health is bringing in the experts.
In an effort to improve access to healthy, nutritious and local food on the Big Island, the state Department of Health is bringing in the experts.
Ken Meter, a food systems analyst and president of the Minneapolis-based Crossroads Resource Center, began a tour of the state Monday with visits to several Hawaii Island farms and food hubs, including Ho‘ola Farms outside Hilo and the Hawaii Food Basket.
Meter has done similar work in 40 states and more than 120 regions throughout the United States.
The site visits and interviews with farmers and other agricultural stakeholders, such as the Kohala Center, are intended to provide an overview of existing food networks in Hawaii — and how they can be improved.
Meter will be on the Big Island until Thursday. One of his goals, he explained to a group of stakeholders at Ho‘ola Farms, is helping communities understand “why localizing the food supply makes economic sense.”
That’s a theme that makes particular sense in Hawaii. A 2012 study found between 85 and 90 percent of food is imported.
Several small networks aimed at increasing local food access have sprouted on the Big Island in the past few years. The Hawaii Island Food Alliance formed last year as a means to bring the different groups together to create a cohesive all-island plan.
Meter’s analysis will bolster that effort.
The analysis, expected in final form in December and preliminary form as early as September, will “hopefully shine a light on where the problems are,” said Lenard Allen, public health educator with the DOH Hawaii District Health Office.
“(Ken’s) a great resource in doing this, and he does in a nice way, but a firm way,” Allen said.
Meter explained Monday that his interest in breaking down access barriers lies partially in his own family history. His great-grandfather farmed for decades in the Midwest, but never on land he owned himself. Barriers come in all forms, though.
One reason the DOH is helping fund the visit is because of its interest in increasing participation in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, Allen said. Rankings by the U.S. Department of Agriculture place Hawaii 49 of 51 (including the District of Columbia) in terms of eligible residents participating in the program.
“So, we return to the federal government approximately … $20 million every year because people don’t sign up for SNAP,” Allen said. The SNAP dollars instead could be going into the local economy (they can be used at farmers markets).
“There are ways for us to fix this stuff,” Allen said. “It’s just going to take time.”
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.