2022 Kaua‘i Farmer & Rancher Needs Assessment

In November 2022, we held two meetings for farmers, ranchers, and food producers across Kaua‘i as active focus group sessions, with the question:

“How do we increase access to healthy, local food on Kaua‘i?”

Participants were led through rapid group activities to identify their strengths and needs related to the question, voting on their most critical needs in which they would actively participate in addressing, and began drafting potential related goals and objectives. These sessions are a core part of the development of a multi-agency, islandwide Kaua‘i Food Access Plan.

The Kaua‘i Food Access Plan 2030 will be a guide and a work plan to increasing healthy food access in Kaua‘i County, with a focus on our most vulnerable, including keiki, kūpuna, and low-income residents. We aim to identify key policy, systems, and environmental changes that can make an impact towards good food for all.

This project is supported by Hawai’i State Department of Health Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division through a Food Access Capacity Building Project. These activities followed up on our previous 2017 Kaua‘i Farmer Survey and our Farmer Focus Groups in 2020 and 2021.

View the summary report of our initial meetings online here.