Legislature approves bills that could help boost local food production

by Jonathan Helton, Grassroot Institute

The Hawaiʻi Legislature this year approved at least three bills that could help the state achieve its goal of increasing the amount of food grown here in the islands, and one of them has already become law.

The measures are aimed at removing barriers to constructing farm employee housing, selling homemade foods and donating Axis deer meat to local charities.

Signed by Gov. Josh Green on May 26, HB1737 adds to state law a definition of “farm employee housing” with the goal of making it easier for farmers and ranchers to build housing on their land. Specifically, farmers and ranchers across the state are now allowed to build farm employee homes on their properties, as long as no single unit is larger than 800 square feet.

After all, farmers can’t farm if they don’t have workers, and farm workers can’t work if they don’t have a place to live.

This new law is intended to help farmers and ranchers avoid a complicated patchwork of county zoning laws that impose several requirements on farm-related housing.

Some counties mandate public hearings as part of the approval process for farm employee units. Others require applicants to prove they make a certain amount of income from agricultural activities in order to receive a permit to build such housing.

Another bill that deserves Gov. Green’s approval is SB3302.

This measure would allow food prepared in kitchens on agricultural land to be sold at farmers markets, through retailers and online, as long as the products are labeled as being made in a home kitchen — just as the state allows for food prepared in residential home kitchens.

Such a bill is necessary because the state Department of Health seems to believe that kitchens on agricultural land might not be covered under the state’s existing cottage food rules.

Brynn Foster, founder of Voyaging Foods, testified during the legislative session that the clarification of the law provided by SB3302 would remove “a major barrier that has discouraged many farmers from exploring value-added production.”

Last but not least, the Legislature advanced a bill that, if approved by the governor, will set up a five-year pilot program to make it easier for Maui County hunters to donate Axis deer meat to organizations intending to feed the needy.

The virtue of this bill is two-fold: It would help Hawaii control Maui’s Axis deer population — considered a destructive, invasive species — while at the same time providing food to Hawaii residents struggling to put food on their tables.

If HB1334 becomes law, Maui County hunters who complete a certification program will be able to donate Axis deer meat without needing to have it inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In future years, the Legislature should consider expanding this pilot program to cover other invasive species across the state, such as goats and pigs.

The Legislature should also consider scaling back other laws that make it more difficult for farmers and ranchers to turn a profit.

This session, the body declined to pass SB2743, which would have reduced the number of permits needed for agricultural structures. Lawmakers also passed on HB2425, which would have made it easier to farm former sugar plantation lands in the state’s conservation district.

For now, enacting the three bills approved this year would comprise decent progress toward Hawaii’s quest to import less than 85–90% of its food. After all, such a goal cannot be achieved in a day — or a single legislative session.