Nearly 280 proposed charter amendments have been submitted to the Honolulu Charter Commission, including several with a focus on improving farming or ensuring that residents don’t go hungry.
A few of the proposals would add language to the city charter giving residents a "right to food,” meaning the city would have a duty to ensure Oʻahu residents have access to enough nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food.
Urban agroecologist Kima Wassel Hardy, founder of the agroforestry consulting business Earth Innovation, is helping spearhead that effort.
”What we're saying is that Hawaiʻi's in a state of crisis when it comes to hunger, and it's only getting worse. And so we're trying to be creative and innovative and do literally anything possible to see those numbers start turning around because we don't want to see one more child, one more kupuna, one more neighbor, go hungry … and so we want to embed those positive rights into the city charter,” she said.
Other city charter proposals would put money behind that effort as well.
The Hawaiʻi Foodbank submitted its own proposal to create what it’s calling a Food Security Fund — something that Wassel Hardy supports.
It would be funded using a portion of revenue from the city’s real property taxes, and would be used for city programs meant to improve access to healthy, affordable and locally grown food.
“A Food Security Fund would also provide an opportunity to strengthen local food production and procurement, creating economic opportunities for farmers and producers and supporting the broader food system during blue skies and grey,” the food bank said in its proposal. “By providing a mechanism to reliably invest in local agriculture, farmers can plan for future growth knowing their products will feed their neighbors in need.”
Another proposal would create a city-level Farm and Community Health Board consisting of farmers, environmental health professionals and a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner with expertise in traditional agriculture.
The board would advise policymakers on how to promote sustainable agriculture and balance agricultural development and public health.
Yet another amendment would create a requirement to prioritize locally grown products when the city is procuring food.
The charter commission will review the proposed amendments by category starting this month.
Food and farming-related proposals will likely be heard in the beginning of January.
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