The Food Basket distributes $700,000 to dozens of Big Island AG operations

Hawaiʻi Public Radio | By Mark Ladao

Published June 13, 2025 at 2:41 PM HST

The Food Basket on Hawaiʻi Island has distributed around $700,000 in grants to over 30 island producers in an effort to promote local farming and improve food security.

The Mālama Da Farmer Grants represent the island’s first grant program, which was funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act to provide relief from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding will help upscale farming operations, addressing systemic food issues facing the island and the state as a whole.

“It's addressing the problem at the source. We saw what happened during COVID — the shelves were empty. We should invest in our local farming communities because they are the ones that are feeding us when the ships don’t come,” said Alex Haban, The Food Basket’s food hub development specialist.

The global supply chain was disrupted during the early stages of the pandemic, leaving Hawaiʻi without food imports — and about 90% of the total food consumed on the islands.

But the grants have also illustrated new problems local farmers are facing now, including the broad and volatile tariffs issued during the Trump administration.

Read more here: https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2025-06-13/the-food-basket-distributes-700-000-to-dozens-of-big-island-ag-operations

See Awardees with this link: Malama Da Farmer Grants — The Food Basket