Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance Announces Grantees for Its Growing Hawaiʻi Together ʻUmeke ʻAi Pono, Noi Kōkua Awards
More than 30 local farmers, community organizations, and food hubs have been selected to receive $600k in grants to continue rebuilding thriving community food systems across Hawaiʻi.
June 4, 2026 – For the 2026 grant program Growing Hawaiʻi Together, which is intended to support the rebuilding of thriving community food systems, the Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance awarded 21 Noi Kōkua Business Builder grants and 10 ʻUmeke ʻAi Pono Community Feeding grants. Ranging from $4,200 to $30,000, these investments empower grantees to address immediate needs while expanding infrastructure and feeding community, together strengthening the production and regional distribution of locally grown food across Hawaiʻi.
Noi Kōkua grants support farmers and producers with production, small-equipment purchases, value-added processing, and infrastructure improvements.
ʻUmeke ʻAi Pono supports community-based organizations, farms, and food hubs with the sharing of local food to communities with limited access combined with nutrition education and community story gathering.
“The 2026 Growing Hawaiʻi Together grantees embody the dedication of our local food producers and distributors — and the deep care they hold for their communities. With these grants, farmers, fishermen, producers, and food aggregators will continue to strengthen and grow Hawaiʻi’s food systems. They exemplify the hope HGFA carries for the future of good food in our islands." –Kaʻiulani Odom, Executive Director, Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance
Grantees are pursuing a wide range of business and community feeding endeavors that reflect meaningful economic and social impacts for Hawaiʻi’s food system and its generational stewardship.
“This project will provide more consistent income for local fishermen by expanding the market for underutilized species and sizes of fish that are rejected by restaurants or have limited outlet. … By capturing and retaining more value locally, the circular model strengthens Kauaʻi’s overall food system resilience: fishermen gain steady buyers, buyers expand product diversity, consumers benefit from reliable access to island-caught seafood, and preserved food resources are ʻshored up.’" –Kauaʻi Fresh Fish, Noi Kōkua grantee
“For the communities we serve, this project directly increases access to fresh, culturally relevant, and nutrient-dense staple foods. Kalo is not only a food source, but a foundational element of Native Hawaiian identity, health, and well-being. By providing poi, kalo, and lau to kūpuna, houseless individuals, and families facing food insecurity, we are addressing immediate nutritional needs while also restoring relationships to traditional foods.” –Hoʻokuaʻāina, ‘Umeke ‘Ai Pono grantee
List of Grantees
Noi Kōkua selected recipients: Grow Green, Hawaiʻi Institute of Pacific Agriculture, Hawaiʻi Seed Growers Network, Iwikua, Kaialahui Foundation, Kanekoa Farms, Kauaʻi Fresh Fish, Kauaʻi Sea Farm, Livity Garden, Local Iʻa Community Supported Fishery, Mālama Kauaʻi, MAʻO Organic Farms, Nohoʻana Farm, O.K. Farms, Onomea Farm Hub, Polipoli Farms, Pono Grown, Punachicks Farm & Punachicks Kitchen, Puʻu Pale Ranch, Root to Rise Farm, Kiʻikiʻi Farm Provisions
ʻUmeke ʻAi Pono selected recipients: ʻĀina Hoʻokupu O Kīlauea, Hāmākua Youth Center (HYC), Hoʻōla Farms, Hoʻokuaʻāina, Kahumana Organic Farm & Food Hub, Kohala Food Hub, Kōkua Kalihi Valley - Roots Program, Mohala Farms, Sustʻāinable Molokai, The Food Basket
Funding for this initiative is made possible through a grant to HGFA from the Office of Community Services within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
HGFA invites donors to join us in growing a good food movement in Hawaiʻi invested in cultural grounding, health and wellbeing, equity, community, and mālama ʻāina. Your support enables transformative efforts such as these. To learn more about funding opportunities or to partner with us, please visit hawaiigoodfoodalliance.org or contact Nicole Milne.
About the Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance
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 Hawaiʻi can share in healthy, locally produced food.
The five pillars that guide our work are: Cultural Grounding, Food is Medicine, Equity, Community-Based, and Mālama ʻĀina.