With hunger growing on Oʻahu, a push to put food security to a vote

While other places in the country including Boulder, Colo., Seattle, San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif., have adopted soda taxes for food-related public health initiatives, the Honolulu proposal relies on existing property tax revenue, not a new tax.

Currently, 1.5 percent of Honolulu’s annual property tax revenue, or about $24 million, goes to three special funds, one for affordable housing, a clean water and natural lands fund, and a climate resiliency fund voters approved in 2024. The food bank’s proposal would increase the tax revenue set aside to 2 percent, and divide it equally among those three and the food security fund. That way each of the existing funds would receive the same amount as they do now.

“We really saw this as this great long-term funding opportunity to hit all of these buckets,” Herman said, “from emergency preparedness and planning to local food investments to feeding hungry people on this island and putting that all together as this kind of public private partnership.”

Organizations including the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action and Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice have lined up behind the proposal.