King, Kelly Takaya
Food security is defined by the USDA as "access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life." How will your platform address food insecurity in Maui County?
I will continue to work with the Maui Nui Food Alliance to create baseline data and bring farmers, food processors and distributors, other elected officials and the public together to support funding to increase sustainable agriculture for food and other high value products, as well as food processing/distribution ,as part of our circular economy.
Please list any initiatives you have supported in Maui County to increase food access and food production that you are proud of:
As a Council member, I have strongly supported Increased funding for agriculture, small farmer grants, school gardens, farmer education programs, composting projects, and the creation of a county Dept. of Agriculture. I have also been a member of the MNFA Steering Committee where I advocated for a baseline data study.
Hawaiʻi imports roughly 85% of our food supply. How will your platform address increasing local food production?
I will continue to collaborate with the Council to fund local food farming. I believe we actually have more local food supply than we currently recognize officially. If we include the subsistence hunting, fishing, backyard gardens and small farms, we will understand the true picture. I have worked with the State and Federal Agriculture departments on renewable energy for 25 years now, and I will continue to work with them to find ways to help local hunters get USDA-certified to get venison to market. As mayor, I will increase funding to help more residents engage in gardening, either in their own backyards or through community gardens. Offering continued funding will also give the County the opportunity to quantify these additional food sources. As Mayor, I will continue to be a strong supporter of the Farm to School initiatives, and utilize my background and contacts as a former Board of Education member to expedite actions!
Please indicate your position on the following policies:
Creating County funding mechanisms to support DA BUX Double Up Food Bucks. SUPPORT
Increasing local food procurement for Maui County schools. SUPPORT
Increasing Farm to School initiatives including school gardens. SUPPORT
Pursuing County Farm to Food Bank Funding. SUPPORT
Developing regional organic waste and composting services. SUPPORT
Restructuring the Department of Water Supply and Department of Wastewater to encourage strategies for conservation, efficient water use, storage, and growing water resources. SUPPORT + REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION
Increasing the budget for the Maui County Department of Agriculture. SUPPORT
Offering subsidies to local farms that have shown the ability to sustain production. SUPPORT
Supporting policies that allow for increased affordable housing for farmworkers. SUPPORT + REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION
Improving policies around hunting and utilizing invasive protein sources. SUPPORT
Funding updated shared processing facilities, including slaughterhouses and food hubs. SUPPORT
Implementing new inspection policies to reduce the spread of invasive species. SUPPORT
Establishing local control of water resources through a Maui County Community Water Authority, with the ability to establish regional community boards. SUPPORT
Please elaborate on any of your above positions here.
I have a strong record of support for the above initiatives throughout my 6 years on the Maui County Council! As active farmers ourselves, my husband and I are intimately familiar with the issues farmers face everyday. On the affordable housing issue, I am part of the Council Chair's ad hoc committee on diversifying our economy which is developing a proposal to give 'occupational preference' for affordable housing to folks who work in fields where we have major employee shortages (ie. health care, education, law enforcement) and we can do an assessment which includes ag workers.
Are there other issues, County-wide or within your own residency area, about food security that concern you, and how do you plan to address these issues if elected?
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