Question 1 on Oʻahu's ballot this year will ask voters if they're for or against establishing a new Special Fund that would dedicate 0.5% of real property tax revenue to a Food Security Fund.
This would not be a new tax, rather it would join the five existing special funds under the Honolulu Charter, including the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund, the Affordable Housing Fund, the Climate Resiliency Fund, the Honolulu Zoo Fund and the Grants in Aid Fund.
What the fund would do
In a report from last year, the Hawaiʻi Foodbank found that nearly 1 in 3 households across the state experience food insecurity.
“Here on Oʻahu, almost a quarter million people are food insecure, meaning they don't have regular access, consistent access to safe and healthy food,” Amy Miller, the Hawaiʻi Foodbank's president and CEO, told HPR. “Many of those folks are extremely food insecure, going without eating for whole days on a regular basis because there just isn't enough money for food.”
The fund would support programs and grants that provide locally grown and produced food to Oʻahu residents. It would also provide money for non-local products, although only during declared emergencies.
Miller said dedicated funding for local food access and support during vulnerable times could reduce Hawaiʻi's reliance on imported goods, while boosting the local economy.
“Ensuring that these dollars all stay local and invest in our local food system will help all of us build a stronger, more resilient food system,” she said. “Every time there's a disaster, every time people need help, our neighbors are willing to lend a hand and volunteer or donate and make sure that everyone in our community has access to safe and healthy food, and this is just another way that we can do that, but on a scale that could be really transformative.”
Concerns over funding
But the 0.5% could create a strain on the general funds available in emergency situations, according to Andy Kawano, the director of the Honolulu Department of Budget and Fiscal Services.
He said the little growth in real property tax collections in recent years paired with rising operating costs has created less wiggle room for the department to fund its critical services, including public safety, parks, transportation, planning and permitting, repair and maintenance across City infrastructure and the waste management system.
“It's definitely a balancing act,” he said. “As these automatic allocations of funding continue to grow, if we cannot fund our core services that we provide to the public, we're going to have to reduce those services. There has to be a give somewhere.”
Kawano said an alternate approach could be investing more time, energy and funding into existing programs that target food insecurity, including the Grants in Aid program that supports nonprofits.
He also stated that the Climate Resiliency Fund has a section that mentions food insecurity, which states that money within the fund may be used for “addressing an over-dependence on imports for food and energy.”
Questions about existing food programs
But Miller believes the rate of food insecurity across the state needs immediate action beyond existing programs.
“Even though the City's been an amazing partner, there is really very little in terms of actual dollars made available to help support our neighbors with food insecurity, and I don't think any of the current programs really come anywhere near to meeting the need,” she said. “To me, feeding our neighbors and investing in our local food security is critical. That is something I want my tax dollars to go to.”
Honolulu residents can expect to receive their ballots over the next two weeks. Hawaiʻi’s general election is on Nov. 3.
