Ritte, Walter
Ritte, Walter
Office Seeking: State Senator, District 7 (Hāna, East Maui, Upcountry Maui, Lānaʻi, Molokai, Kahoʻolawe)
Party: Democrat
Website: ritte.org
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?
Plant food not grass, plant kalo, learn how to fish, gather at the shorelines, grow seeds in your kitchen window, trade with your neighbors and hunters and ohana, don't waste, share your fruits and vegetables, go to the farmers market...then go to the store.
Please list any initiatives you have supported in Maui County to increase food access and food production that you are proud of:
Shoreline community based subsistence fishing areas, traditional Keawanui fish pond, aina momona farm, Ka'amola ahupua'a restoration.
Hawaiʻi imports roughly 85% of our food supply. How will your platform address increasing local food production?
Support Ahupua'a restoration, deer management plans, hunter education, shoreline management plans, fishpond restoration efforts, stream restoration efforts, support county ag department.
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
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
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.
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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?
We need management plans for our shorelines, reefs, hunting areas and forest management