Kamehameha Schools has opened applications for Mahiʻai Match-up, a program focused on strengthening Hawaiʻi's food system by providing local agriculture and food entrepreneurs with resources to begin, expand and nourish their businesses.
This year’s theme is centered around native and canoe crops such as kalo and ‘ulu. Kamehameha Schools looks to revitalize the ancestral foods that once sustained Hawaiʻi's people for centuries by reintroducing them to today’s palate.
More than 80% of Hawaiʻi’s food is imported, and dependence on out-of-state agriculture can leave the islands vulnerable in times of natural disaster or global events.
Kanakolu Noa, interim director of sustainable industries at Kamehameha Schools, hopes to lessen that dependence with the help of the program.
“We know that we have the opportunity to contribute to the larger goal of Hawaiʻi, which is to start to see our local food and become, what I would like to see, is food [sovereign],” Noa said.
Mahiʻai Match-up will award three local businesses with a cash prize of up to $25,000 and with business development resources. Winners will spend three months in a tailored mentorship program with a business coach to address barriers they might face.
Kamehameha Schools has also provided commercial real estate and land lease opportunities to past winners.
“We have a really critical role in ensuring that we make a commitment to elevating and creating opportunities to increase not only our production, but our consumption of our Native Hawaiian crops. When we think about Mahiʻai Match-up, that's a huge compliment to all of these efforts,” Noa said.
The application closes July 15. Find more information here.
