Hunger and health are deeply connected. Food insecurity can lead to negative health outcomes such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. We know that for many families, as budgets grow tighter, households tend to shift towards cheaper food options, which can be highly processed with reduced nutritional value as compared to more expensive whole foods. At Hawaiʻi Foodbank, we believe that equitable access to safe and healthy food is a fundamental human right, and are committed to providing healthy options for our community. Last year, over 25% of all food distributed by Hawaiʻi Foodbank was fresh produce, and nearly half of that was grown locally.

While programs like Farm to Families allow us to purchase foods direct from farmers and food hubs, food rescue is also an important part of our business model. We work with retailers, distributors, wholesalers, and community members to donate excess food that might otherwise be thrown away. Each year, Hawaiʻi Foodbank rescues more than 10 million pounds of good food from going to waste, and distributes it to those facing hunger in our community.

Food safety is of paramount importance to us, and we inspect donated food items at our warehouse to ensure they are safe to eat. Inevitably, some food cannot be rescued, and we divert as much as possible to our composting partners — Full Circle Farm and Kahumanu Organic Farms — and pig farmers to keep as much food as possible out of the waste stream.