Historically, Native Hawaiians cultivated the land to feed and sustain generations, and Lahaina was particularly favored by ali’i for its abundant food and ideal climate. Today, Hawai’i’s communities are extremely food insecure and vulnerable to future disasters and supply chain issues. This places economic strain on residents and business owners due to high food costs. After the fires, community groups came together to form the Maui Emergency Feeding Task Force to address community food shortages and needs. Emergency feeding needs continue and future initiatives are needed for food resilience and for long-term self-sufficient food security. The Lahaina community and government agencies have expressed interest in reinvigorating sustainable agricultural practices to reshape Maui’s economy, generate jobs and feed the community.
Building off the County of Maui Department of Agriculture 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, this recovery project involves the creation of a plan to develop and prioritize agriculture initiatives for Lahaina moku’s agriculture, farms, food systems, and ecosystems.
Goals of the plan include:
- Developing a regional sustainable and diversified agriculture industry
- Supporting local farming initiatives and building economic resilience
- Ecosystem restoration and stewardship to support community health
- Improving food security and access to healthy food
Key example efforts include:
- Supporting emergency feeding needs
- Supporting the recovery of damaged farms
- Establishing new agriculture and agroforestry industry areas return former plantation lands to agriculture production
- Building agriculture infrastructure such as cold and dry storage
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