Maui County unveils 2025–2030 food and nutrition security plan, urges local action to expand access and production

The Maui County Department of Agriculture presented the 2025–2030 Maui County Food and Nutrition Security Plan at the committee’s Aug. 7 informational meeting, outlining goals and actions aimed at ensuring all residents can access affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food.

The plan, presenters said, focuses on increasing local production, improving food access and markets, strengthening producer viability and protecting ecosystems. Lauren Nelson, Maui County food access coordinator, said the plan reflects “a community‑based food systems approach” informed by multiyear outreach that included farmers, fishers, educators and public‑health professionals.

Why it matters: Department officials and community partners told the committee the plan links immediate needs — including sharp increases in food‑bank demand since the August 2023 fires — with longer‑term priorities such as land access, water infrastructure and market channels that keep local food in the islands.

The plan’s goals are to: ensure all residents have access to nourishing, culturally relevant foods; grow local production and support producers; build local food economies and career pathways; and promote healthy, resilient ecosystems and resource stewardship. Nani Conklin, lead technical author and food and agriculture policy consultant with New Ventures Advisors, described objectives and specific actions tied to community priorities such as home food production, food recovery, farmers markets, farm‑to‑school and infrastructure for aggregation and processing.

Presenters highlighted community data and recent food‑bank statistics. Lauren Nelson said Maui Food Bank service increased from about 15,000 people per month in July 2023 to roughly 41,000 per month now; fresh‑produce distribution grew from about 78,000 to 220,000 pounds per month. The food bank, she said, now spends about $635,000 per month to purchase and distribute food, up from roughly $250,000 per month pre‑Aug. 23.

The department will oversee plan implementation in partnership with local nonprofits and businesses designated as “action leads.” Each action will have an identified lead, indicators for tracking progress and an annual report to be published for five years and presented at the Maui Nui Food Summit. Presenters also said the plan is designed to help communities access outside grant funding by showing how proposed projects align with state, federal and international priorities.

Implementation priorities cited at the meeting included pilot produce‑prescription programs, a local food access program for kupuna (elders), grants to expand land used for canoe crops, expanded cold storage and aggregation sites, and ongoing efforts to increase local procurement by school food services. Committee members pressed for more detail on school‑procurement compliance and on water and cold‑storage investments; presenters said work is underway and invited one‑on‑one follow‑ups.

Department leaders and council members discussed proposals to fold the plan into broader county policy or adopt a council resolution to increase its “teeth.” The department asked council members to identify actions they would champion in their districts and said it will begin producing the annual public progress reports and a project‑level grants rollout (farm‑to‑families funding webinar scheduled August 20). The department also invited council members to meet with staff to identify district priorities.

The committee accepted the briefing and will monitor implementation; no legislative action was taken at the informational hearing. The department posted the plan on its website and plans outreach through an October 10 Maui Nui Food Summit to engage partners and volunteers.