Ka‘ū News Briefs, Friday, May 29, 2020

Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island, with support, will continue its food service to remote parts of Kaʻū and other locations on the island through June and July. Donate here.

BOYS & GIRLS CLUB WILL CONTINUE ITS HOT MEALS PROGRAM through June and July, as funding allows preparation and delivery to remote club members in Kaʻū. Also serviced are others in the most vulnerable and impacted populations with needed nutritional supplementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort focuses on Hawaiʻi Island children, kūpuna, homeless populations, and family households experiencing job loss as a result of the pandemic and related economic crisis.
     Chad Cabral, CEO of Boys & Girls Club of the Big Island, said, "All meals continue to be comfort food-local dish items and provided free of charge. We do anticipate the continuation of our Community Meal Support initiative into the month of June and throughout July, to support affected families and individuals during the upcoming summer months. Let's continue to mālama each other and heal our Hawaiʻi Island communities together."
     Donate to the Boys & Girls Club for this program here. Read more about Boys & Girls Club of The Big Island here.

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Safety first! Masks and gloves are tools distributors use to deliver plate lunch to those in need in Kaʻū. Photo from BGCBI

HAWAIʻI MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM OTHER U.S. ISLAND TERRITORIES are asking congress for help in food sustainability.
     Here is Part II of the letter. See Part I in Thursday's Kaʻū News Briefs and Part III in Saturday's Kaʻū News Briefs. Both Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Rep. Ed Case signed on:
     On April 17, 2020, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the creation of a $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program to "provide critical support to our farmers and ranchers, maintain the integrity of our food supply chain, and ensure every American continues to receive and have access to the food they need." According to Secretary Perdue, the CFAP funding sources are the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and other USDA existing authorities. We note that just $2.1 billion is reserved for specialty crop producers despite the CARES Act appropriating $9.5 billion for specialty crop producers and local food systems impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater targeted assistance is required to help small farmers. Therefore, we are requesting the following in the next round of COVID-19 stimulus measures:
     Organizations have been formed to facilitate the delivery of locally grown produce to consumers. The rising demand has also illuminated the need for infrastructure such as warehouse space, cold storage, transportation, utilities, and other operational needs. As such, we request robust funding for grant programs to organizations working to provide direct-to-consumer fresh farm produce.
     Unique factors associated with a year-round growing season means that policy assumptions centered on large-scale, monocrop agriculture with a winter season may inadvertently exclude tropical and subtropical producers. As such, we request that House leadership and appropriators direct the Secretary of Agriculture to create flexibility for unique agricultural producers of Hawaiʻi and U.S. Territories to use appropriated funds.
     U.S. Island farmers are experts at agricultural production, but many need help with the paperwork necessary to access government programs. The current circumstances amplify this need because of new and unfamiliar programs established by the CARES Act and future stimulus packages. As such, we request robust technical assistance funding for the Farm Service Agency, Rural Development, Food and Nutrition Service and other USDA agencies to help farmers, and to fund competitive grants for local service organizations and Land Grant extension agents to support the outreach.
     Small-scale agricultural producers are often in good positions to reconfigure operations for different crops. The coronavirus pandemic however has brought new barriers. Small agriculture producers that once grew crops targeted for high-end markets, such as microgreens for hotel chefs, now need to shift their production to produce for individual consumers. Loan forbearance, deferral, or cancellation will help, but micro-grants would provide farmers and ranchers the resources to accommodate current and future demands. We request robust funding for micro-grant programs and suggest micro-grants for amounts from $15,000-$30,000, depending on need and scale of applicant's operation.
     Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Territories have unique challenges in establishing sustainable food production systems due to geographic location; limited arable land; cost of energy, labor, and inputs; and available local, regional and international markets. Basic and applied research is key to increasing production, efficiency, and profitability of diversified agricultural industries for food and non-food crops. We request funding for tropical and subtropical research including breeding and crop improvement; identification and evaluation of new specialty crops; nutrient and water management; protected agriculture; and aquaponics and hydroponics through the Agriculture Research Service operations and Land Grant Universities located in Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Territories.
     Reduction in the application of synthetic pesticides to control noxious species in Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Territories is critical to prevent chemical contamination of the environment and seepage into sensitive water tables. IPM and biological control techniques reduce chemical applications on farmlands and increase crop quality and value. We request robust funding for IPM projects through the Agriculture Research Service operations and Land Grant Universities located in Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Territories.
     The geographic location of Hawaiʻi and other U.S. Island Territories create a structural challenge unique to our producers. That is why Congress established the RTCP program. Island producers will need support to innovate and develop new markets to recover from the COVID pandemic. We request funding of $10 million for the RTCP.
     This program was designed to help increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food in Hawaiʻi, Alaska, the U.S. territories, and the Compact of Free Association states, through small-scale gardening, herding, and livestock operations in food insecure communities (7 U.S. Code § 7518). The Agricultural Marketing Service is required to follow 2 CFR 200 compliance and risk management procedures. However, doing so eliminates the very people the program is intended to help. We, therefore, request a rule change to allow local departments of agriculture to develop governing actions best suited for each locale for purposes of streamlining implementation of the program, and a one-time funding of $10 million for the Micro-grant for Food Security Program for Hawaiʻ and other U.S. Islands.
     Food hubs are key to helping small-scale farms diversify their markets and grow their businesses.
     The aggregation, distribution, and marketing services these hubs provide makes it possible for farmers to gain entry into larger-volume markets. We request robust funding to strengthen existing and establish new food hubs.
     Demand for farm technology, from drones to accounting software, is increasing among farmers and ranchers. According to USDA NASS Hawaiʻi data, there is a demand for an additional 3383 video surveillance, 2778 GPS/RFID, and 1208 smartphone apps for farmers and ranchers. We request robust funding for Hawaiʻi and U.S. Island farmers and ranchers to expand and/or incorporate agriculture technology on their farms.
     Greenhouses and high tunnels are valuable technologies that help offset climate change stresses and prevent insect, wind, and moisture damages. However due to cost, they have yet to be widely deployed on Island farms despite their obvious benefits. We request a one-time emergency funding with an 80/20 cost-share to help farmers cover the cost of greenhouses and high tunnels for food producers in Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Territories.

Plate lunch is provided to those in need by Boys & Girls Club Big Island. Photo from BGCBI

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A TRAVEL BUBBLE WITH JAPAN AND POSSIBLY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND was discussed by public officials on Thursday.
     In Thursday's Facebook Live streamed discussion between Gov. David Ige, Mayor Harry Kim, and the mayors of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, and Maui counties, they confirmed that the 14-day quarantine for out-of-state visitors will be extended through June. However, the quarantine may be lifted for interisland travel soon.
     During a presentation to the state Senate's Special Committee on COVID-19, senators gave some support for a proposal from the Hawaiʻi Executive Collaborative, including CEO and Chair of Central Pacific Financial Corp., Pauol Yonamine. He said a planning group hopes to meet starting early next week in hopes of welcoming visitors from Japan at the beginning of July. "Japan could serve as an effective start and pilot in the gradual reopening of tourism," Yonamine said. Visitors from Japan would adhere to a contract with testing to ensure they are COVID-free. They would be exempt from the 14-day quarantine. Japan was about 15 percent of visitors before the pandemic.
     Lt. Gov. Josh Green has also encouraged travel bubbles with New Zealand and Australia with their success toward eliminating COVID-19 and their 30 million residents, a potentially big market for Hawaiʻi.