BUILDING A MOVEMENT
AROUND FOOD, COMMUNITY,
& MĀLAMA ʻĀINA
The Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance (HGFA) is a diverse hui of individuals and organizations that engage in the production, aggregation, and distribution of food, and the practice of mālama ʻāina to rebuild thriving community food systems.
We join together—with a sense of urgency—to raise community voice and support one another in the belief that each and every person in Hawai’i can share in healthy, locally produced food.
GUIDING PILLARS
Our guiding pillars encapsulate the beliefs and values that inspire and ground our work.
CULTURAL GROUNDING
Food is a direct connection to our spirituality, culture, community, heritage, and to each other.
FOOD IS MEDICINE
Good food provides a strong foundation for the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
EQUITY
Everyone deserves easy and reliable access to nutritious food as a matter of fairness, equity, and social justice.
COMMUNITY- BASED
Sharing aloha and knowledge, along with building capacity, supports community abundance.
MĀLAMA ʻĀINA
Our relationship with land is one of reciprocity, not ownership - we care for ʻāina and so it provides.
OUR WORK
We manage an Alliance and run programs rooted in our guiding pillars and inspired by the vision of building a food and ʻāina-based movement that empowers our communities to thrive.
ALLIANCE WORK
We create spaces for Alliance and community members to build deep aloha, solidarity, and trust; learn, grow, and share understanding; and support each other in times of need by:
Offering regular communication and support to HGFA organizations
Hosting periodic retreats focused on Alliance strengthening
Engaging in ongoing succession planning with an open invitation to younger representatives of founding organizations
Developing a process to expand the Alliance
Organizing HGFA-sponsored events focusing on issues of value to Alliance organizations
PROGRAMS
We run programs that strengthen, support, and build community food systems through coordination, gap filling, innovation, and advocacy. Our current programs include:
DA BUX Double Up Food Bucks to increase access to fresh healthy locally produced food for lower income families.
Kuina ʻAi, like a lei, weaves together all parts of our food system to organize and support the aggregation and distribution of foods from small family farmers to local buyers, creating and expanding resilient community-based food supply chains.
Hawaiʻi Farmers Market Association to support the growth and viability of community-based direct-to-consumer farm marketing.
Hawai’i Good Food Fund for additional capital to support enterprises across the food value chain that provide equitable access to quality food and stimulate community-based economic development.
Food is Medicine initiatives, led through the ʻAiaola Food is Medicine Center, to integrate culturally relevant nutrition services, healthcare partnerships, and community education to improve health outcomes, support local farmers, and advance equitable food systems.
Policy analysis to provide education about and advocacy for initiatives that advance the production, distribution, and consumption of good food.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
We hold ourselves accountable to making tangible and measurable impacts in the following areas.
Justice, Fairness & Thriving Local Economies
We seek measurable improvements in how good food is distributed fairly to all, and in ways that rectify past and current injustices with lasting solutions. We do not support growth for growth’s sake.
We care about results that are measurable at the community level, in the form of healthy, connected, thriving individuals and families and food secure communities; and the creation of ʻāina and food-related jobs.
Strong Communities & Healthy People
Vibrant Farms & Sustainable Ecosystems
We measure the health of our ʻāina and the continuity and connection of farmers as fundamental determinants of our ability to grow food that is truly good.
We seek to build tangible and actionable connections between food and culture by building relationships and incorporating cultural, historical, social, and spiritual relevance into cultivating food and wellbeing.