New Report Shows a Crisis We Can No Longer Ignore

Hunger in Hawaiʻi is growing, and it is affecting families in every community across our islands. To confront this escalating crisis, Hawaiʻi’s Food Bank Hui, composed of Hawaiʻi Foodbank, Hawaiʻi Foodbank Kauaʻi, Maui Food Bank, and The Food Basket, Inc., Hawaiʻi Island’s Food Bank, has released The State of Food Insecurity in Hawaiʻi 2024-2025. This report delivers one of the clearest pictures yet of what local households are facing and how urgently we must act.

A Crisis Years in the Making.

The findings reflect conditions before the recent reductions in SNAP benefits, pending cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, and the federal government shutdown. Even without these shocks, far too many families were already struggling to make ends meet. Every day, parents skip meals so their keiki can eat, kūpuna ration food to make prescriptions last, and parents and ʻohana who are working multiple jobs are still one unexpected life event away from going hungry. The shutdown made one thing painfully clear: thousands of households in Hawaiʻi are just one or two missed paychecks away from crisis.

Key Findings From the 2024-2025 Report

Food Insecurity Remains Alarmingly High

• 32% of Hawaiʻi households experience food insecurity — meaning they don’t have enough food to live an active and healthy lifestyle.
• 21% of households included someone who went hungry, skipped meals, or went entire days without food simply because they could not afford it.

These are not abstract numbers. They represent people who are living with uncertainty about their next meal.

Keiki Are Facing Growing Hardship

• 34% of households with children experienced food insecurity, rising from 29% in 2023.

This means more than 1 in 3 families with children struggle to provide enough food. The report signals increasing instability for these households and warns that conditions may worsen without intervention.

Young Adults Are the Most at Risk

• 53% of young adults, ages 18-29, experienced food insecurity.
• More than half of our next generation of workers, parents, and leaders are struggling to afford food. This is a staggering figure with long-term implications for Hawaiʻi’s future.

Food Insecurity Reaches Every Island

• Hawaiʻi County: 43% (about 90,000 individuals)
• Maui County: 41% (about 67,000 individuals)
• Kauaʻi County: 32% (about 23,000 individuals)
• Honolulu County: 25% (about 250,000 individuals)

No island is untouched. From rural communities to large urban areas, hunger is a daily reality.

A Path Forward.

This report is more than a collection of data — it is a call to action. The insights gathered will guide food banks, community partners, and policymakers as we work to close gaps, reach more families, and build a stronger, more resilient food system. Lasting change requires all of us. Hunger in Hawaiʻi is solvable — and this report gives us the clarity and urgency we need to take the next step. Along with our Food Bank Hui and all of you, Hawaiʻi Foodbank will continue to work every day to connect those facing hunger with food and resources to thrive.

Read more about the findings in Honolulu Civil Beat and Hawaiʻi Public Radio.