A county briefing at the Honolulu Committee on Energy, Environment and Sustainability on Nov. 18 presented new statewide data showing rising food insecurity and urged local policy and program responses.

Leah Herman, director of advocacy at Hawaii Food Bank, told the committee the statewide survey (May–June 2025, ~1,000 respondents) found "32 percent of Hawaii households were food insecure," and that two-thirds of those households experienced "very low food security," meaning some residents skipped meals or went whole days without eating. Herman said 34% of households with children were food insecure — up from 29% in 2023 — and that young adults (ages 18–29) showed the highest rate of insecurity at 53%.

The data, Herman said, also showed racial and ethnic disparities: Filipino households were the most affected (near 50%), followed by Hispanic households (41%) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander households (36%). By county, Hawaii County registered the highest share (43%), Maui County 41%, Kauai County 32% and Honolulu County 25% — which Herman translated as roughly 247,000 Oahu residents living in food-insecure households.

"SNAP helps more than any food bank can: SNAP provides between five and six times more food than food banks alone," Herman said, urging attention to gaps in the safety net after recent federal funding changes. She summarized SNAP application data from the survey: 16% applied, 11% were approved and 5.5% were denied; of those denied, 83% were food insecure.

Hawaii Appleseed's Daniella Espotto framed the briefing and introduced county-focused options. Genevieve Moua, a food-equity policy analyst with Hawaii Appleseed, outlined four county levers: (1) multi-agency disaster planning and feeding task-force coordination; (2) county sponsorship and expansion of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and school-year child nutrition supports; (3) kupuna feeding and home-delivered meal programs; and (4) direct, predictable funding or procurement programs for local food banks and producers.

Maui County Councilmember Gabe Johnson described Maui-specific approaches that Honolulu can study, including a Lanai voucher pilot ($70,000 in the FY 2026 budget) that issues monthly vouchers for local produce, an $400,000 annual county line item that supports the county food bank, microgrants for farmers and a countywide food-and-nutrition security plan added to Maui's policy framework.

Committee members asked how to reach populations with higher measured insecurity and reduce stigma. Herman described a network of more than 240 hunger-relief partners, mobile refrigerated trucks that serve food deserts, and a data app (Neighbor Connector) used by partners to better map client locations and service usage. Genevieve Moua and panelists emphasized that counties can adopt procurement and voucher rules to buy local, expand summer feeding and embed food goals into county planning.

The chair thanked presenters and said staff would work to consolidate relevant budget items for further council consideration. The briefing was informational; panelists promised follow-up materials and a more detailed county-levers report to be released in coming weeks.

Ending: The committee did not take a formal legislative vote on the briefing. Staff and presenters indicated additional detail and proposed implementation options will be provided to council members as agencies and partners continue planning.