U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono and U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda visited Hilo for a ceremony celebrating the Hawaii Island Food Basket’s new agricultural campus.

After three years of hard work, students from Hawaii Community College’s agriculture program harvested their first fruits and vegetables Tuesday from an agroforestry project in Pepeekeo.

With continued cancellations and delayed shipments of federal food products, as well as wholesale food purchases, channels that typically assist The Food Basket, Hawaii island’s Food Bank, their mission to end hunger on Hawaii island and beyond are being tested.

The Food Basket Executive Director, Kristin Frost Albrecht, joined GMH to talk about the organization’s plans for the future.

While there were supplies on some shelves Wednesday at The Food Basket warehouse in Hilo, they won’t be there long as the food bank continues to experience historic shortages in food supplies.

Kristin Frost Albrecht and Julia Zee of The Food Basket explain efforts to serve the Hawai‘i Island community.

Through the release of the Kai and Hōkū Explore Foods of Hawaiʻi book in September 2021, The Food Basket took its first stride in creating place-based nutrition education resources for Hawaiʻi’s keiki.

The Hawaii Island Agricultural Innovation Park will help alleviate food insecurity, lift barriers to pursuing agriculture and respond to the current pandemic-related downturn by providing the capital needed to create a robust agricultural economy.

Local organization, Hawai`i Food Basket spreads aloha with new and creative ways to get Hawai`i residents involved.