Nā Manaʻo Nui
Measure What Matters.
Grow What Matters.
A community-centered framework for putting our shared values for good food into action.
What does a good food system look like when our values show up in the choices we make every day? Nā Manaʻo Nui helps communities, organizations, institutions, farmers, funders, and partnersanswer that question together.
Rooted in the Five Good Food Pillars, the framework gives us a shared way to understand where we are, recognize progress, and keep moving toward a food system where Hawaiʻi’s people, ʻāina, cultures, and local economies can thrive. Our values guide us. Our actions show us how we are doing.
FROM SHARED VALUES TO SHARED ACTION
Our Five Good Food Pillars describe what we value in Hawaiʻi’s food system. Nā Manaʻo Nui helps us put those values into practice. They are not separate ideas. They are complementary expressions of the same commitment to food, health, equity, culture, ʻāina, and community stewardship.
Equity → Justice, Fairness & Thriving Local Economies
Who benefits from our food system? Who faces barriers? Where do food dollars go?
Community-Based → Vibrant Farms & Sustainable Ecosystems
How do our values create greater community self-determination?
Mālama ʻĀina → Sustainable & Ethical Procurement
How can what we purchase reflect our responsibility to ʻāina?
Cultural Grounding → Pilina, Cultural Connections
How do our food choices strengthen relationships to culture, place, and one another?
Food is Medicine → Strong Communities & Healthy People
How do our actions contribute to healthier people and communities?
WHAT WE MEASURE SHAPES WHAT WE VALUE
Measurement is more than counting pounds of produce, dollars spent, or meals served. Those numbers matter. But they don’t tell the whole story. Nā Manaʻo Nui invites us to measure the conditions and relationships that make a good food system possible.
Are more food dollars staying in Hawaiʻi? Are local farmers able to build stable businesses? Can families access fresh, affordable, culturally meaningful foods? Are community voices shaping decisions? Are we caring for soil, water, seeds, and future generations? Are Indigenous knowledge and practices respected? Are relationships becoming stronger? Is power shifting toward communities?
These are measures of good food, too.
Accountability can be an act of care.
Nā Manaʻo Nui isn’t about giving communities a passing or failing grade. It gives us a common language for reflection:
Hakahaka / Hemahema
Spaces in Between
Where are there gaps, barriers, or opportunities that need our attention?
Hoʻomaʻamaʻa
Practicing
Where have we begun changing our practices and building capacity?
Holomua
Progressing
Where are relationships, resources, and systems beginning to shift?
Hoʻokō
Fulfilling
Where are our intentions becoming embedded in the way our food system works?
The goal isn’t simply to reach a score; it’s to keep learning, strengthening relationships, and fulfilling our collective intentions.
START WHERE YOU ARE. MOVE TOGETHER.
Nā Manaʻo Nui can be used in planning, procurement, grantmaking, partnerships, evaluation, community conversations, and organizational decision-making. It starts with a few important questions:
1. Name what matters. Which Good Food Pillar and Nā Manaʻo Nui intention are we trying to advance? What does that value mean in our place and community?
2. Listen and look together. Bring in the people closest to the food system. Pair numbers with moʻolelo, lived experience, relationships, and community knowledge.
3. Understand where you are. Use the framework to identify spaces in between, practices underway, signs of progress, and places where intentions are being fulfilled.
4. Choose the next meaningful action. Ask what would help move the work forward. A new purchasing practice? A stronger producer relationship? Greater community decision-making? More culturally grounded measures? A change in policy or investment?
5. Return, reflect, and remain accountable. Measurement is not a one-time exercise. Revisit the framework, share what you are learning, recognize progress, and name where more work is needed.
Accountability is something we practice with one another, not something we do to one another.
HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE GROWING A GOOD FOOD SYSTEM?
We look at what we purchase.
And who benefits from those purchases.
We look at how much food is produced locally.
And whether local producers can thrive.
We look at health outcomes.
And whether people can access foods that nourish body, culture, and community.
We look at environmental practices.
And whether our relationships with ʻāina are reciprocal and regenerative.
We count participation.
And ask whose voices carry power.
We document outcomes.
And listen to stories.
We celebrate progress.
And remain accountable for what comes next.
Nā Manaʻo Nui gives Hawaiʻi’s communities a way to make our shared intentions visible, actionable, and measurable without losing sight of the relationships and values at the heart of the work.
Measure what matters. Practice what we value.