State seeks public comment about priorities for Hawaiʻi Resilient Food Systems program

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture is seeking public comments through Aug. 11 on funding priorities being developed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program.

Hawai‘i has been earmarked for $3.2 million in block grant funding; however, the program requires Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture to conduct outreach to stakeholders to determine the priorities for the state application.

The purpose of the program is to develop and administer state-coordinated initiatives to build the resilience of the state’s food supply chain for food crops. In partnership with the USDA, the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture will administer competitive solicitation to award grants to support infrastructure in the middle of the supply chain for local food and farm businesses and other eligible entities.

Funds will support expanded capacity for the aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of locally produced food products, including specialty crops, dairy, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.

Examples of eligible project objectives include:

• Modernizing processing and manufacturing equipment
• Supporting the construction of a new facility
• Modernizing or expanding an existing facility
• Improving operations through training opportunities
• Modernizing manufacturing, tracking, storage, and information technology systems
• Improving the capacity to comply with federal, state, and local food safety requirements
• Enhancing worker safety through the adoption of new technologies or investment in equipment or facility improvements 

For a full description of program objectives and eligible projects, visit the USDA RFSI program factsheet at:  https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/RFSIFactSheet.pdf

At this phase in the process, Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture is collecting public comments about needs in the local agricultural and food sector to define funding priorities for the forthcoming grant program. All interested parties may submit comments to hdoa.rfsi@hawaii.gov beginning July 26 through Aug. 11 2023, until 4:30 p.m. HST. 

The input received will be reviewed and utilized to determine Hawai‘i’s priorities and will be submitted to the USDA.

Public listening sessions will be held in-person and virtually on Aug. 2 from 5 to 6 p.m.

In-Person at:

Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine Branch Conference Room
1849 Auiki St., Honolulu 

Zoom information:

Topic: RFSI listening session 

Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81948307291 

Or One tap mobile : +17193594580,81948307291# US +12532050468,,81948307291# US

Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): +1 719 359 4580 US +1 253 205 0468 US +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 444 9171 US +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 564 217 2000 US +1 646 931 3860 US +1 689 278 1000 US +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 305 224 1968 US +1 309 205 3325 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 360 209 5623 US +1 386 347 5053 US +1 507 473 4847 US Webinar ID: 819 4830 7291

International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kOITKFgBu

A video of the listening session will be posted later on the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu8ne-a4cg_kW3G-95P27KA

Program contact:

• Phone: 808-973-9595
• email: hdoa.rfsi@hawaii.gov