Through our grant with the County of Maui and the help of the Mayor’s office and the Office of Economic Development we are excited to announce a new program that starts today: the “Farm Product Purchase Program”. I want to thank Mayor Victorino and his team for expediting the steps necessary to get this program rolled out quickly.
The Maui County Farm Bureau will be purchasing produce and fruit from farmers throughout Maui island and the County of Maui will be distributing it to residents in need. This program will be providing our farmers much needed cash to keep their enterprises going, and will be providing food to our families who, through no fault of their own, now have no paychecks.
The program has been designed for commercial farms in active agriculture production on Maui and requires that eligible farmers must have sold an average of $2500. per month in produce prior to March of 2020. You do not need to be a member of the Maui County Farm Bureau to participate in this program. The application along with the program rules is now posted on the Maui County Farm Bureau website, as well as the County of Maui.
Beyond this program, what can the public do to help our farmers weather this crisis? Please seek out and ask for locally grown produce, meat, eggs, and flowers when buying for your family and friends. Support the farmer’s markets and CSA box programs that are developing, ask the produce manager in the supermarkets to point out the local produce. Look for Grown on Maui, Island Fresh, Made in Hawaii, Made In Maui branding. Tell our local farmers that they are appreciated.
We are at a defining point in our history. Your actions today and in the near future will decide our food security destiny in Hawaii for the next decade. We need to save our farms.