Introduction: Why County Action Matters

Counties have a critical role to play in strengthening food security, especially as Hawaiʻi faces rising costs of living and high rates of food insecurity. 

According to recent numbers, food insecurity is a pressing challenge across the islands: Hawaiʻi Island faces the greatest impact, where 43 percent of households are affected. Sizeable proportions in Maui (41 percent), Kauaʻi (32 percent), and Oʻahu (25 percent) also report difficulty accessing enough food.

At the same time, shifting federal priorities and proposed cuts to nutrition and health programs threaten to reduce the reliability of resources that low-income families rely on, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.

Since 2018, each county has added a dedicated Food Access Coordinator (FAC), partially funded by the SNAP-Education program and administered through the Hawaiʻi Department of Health. These FACs play a central role in assessing community needs, leading the development of county-wide Food Systems Plans, and mapping emergency food-response efforts.

In 2025, Congress cut SNAP-Ed funding with the passage of H.R.1. Without stable funding for these critical positions, communities risk losing the backbone of their local food security infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, counties are uniquely positioned to adapt and respond to smaller-scale community needs. Unlike federal and state programs, county-level governance has a closer connection to residents, making for community-focused solutions that reflect local needs. 

For instance, as the state’s most rural county, Hawaiʻi County’s approach to food production may reflect its uniquely dispersed communities and agricultural landscape. Maui County, on the other hand, is the only county comprising three islands, and may need to prioritize inter-island transportation support for Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi to address geographic barriers to access. 

While this report aims to evaluate the current programs and resources that counties in Hawaiʻi can use to strengthen food security, these recommendations are not meant as a replacement of entire nutrition programs like SNAP, which are seeing historically drastic reductions in benefits and overall funding. Nor do these recommendations assume that counties will be shouldering these efforts alone. County efforts must be coupled with significant state support, and utilization of federal programs that remain strong.