Source: NORTH SHORE EVP submitted to NRP
OPENING NEW MARKETS FOR SMALL FARMS BY EXPANDING HAWAII¿S USDA GROUPGAP FOOD SAFETY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028699
Grant No.
2022-70020-37570
Cumulative Award Amt.
$205,000.00
Proposal No.
2022-01709
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2022
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2024
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[A4182]- Regional FSMA Center
Recipient Organization
NORTH SHORE EVP
67-332 KAIEA PL
WAIALUA,HI 967919501
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The vast majority of Hawai'i farms are smaller than 10 acres and because of low volumes and inconsistent production, most sell directly to consumers at farmers? markets, roadside stands, or CSA programs. Access to larger, more consistent markets that usually require some form of food safety documentation, if not full certification, is a significant challenge for these farms due to a perceived high cost and complexity of attaining food safety certification. The lack of both food safety certification and access to new commercial and institutional markets is a key bottleneck that keeps farm size and capacities stunted, and relegates locally-grown food to less consistent buying channels. To fill this void, large buyers turn to non-Hawaiian suppliers who are food safety certified although this increases Hawai'i?s dependency on imported food, already thought to be at about 90%. Without the leverage and consistent demand of large buyers, farmers do not have an incentive to upgrade and scale their operations. As a result, Hawaii remains largely dependent on outside sources for the majority of our food supply, and is increasingly in peril of supply chain disruptions resulting from global issues such as pandemics, natural disasters, and political conflict. Additionally many Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are unable to access culturally appropriate foods if they cannot grow them themselves.The Opening New Markets for Small Farms by Expanding Hawai'i?s USDA GroupGAP Food Safety Certification Program will address these issues through a strategy of outreach and education, technical assistance and training, and USDA Harmonized GAP certification to increase the number of small food safety certified farms in Hawaii. Outreach and education in the form of webinars, on site Farm days, and follow up consultation, will give farmers information about the costs, processes, and benefits of food safety certification. Those farmers interested in pursuing certification will receive technical assistance and training to ensure that they and their farms are ready to enter the Hawai'i GroupGAP program. Farmers successfully completing the GroupGAP program, including passing two internal and one USDA external audit, will become Harmonized GAP certified. The certified farms will then have the ability to sell to a number of new buyers from our growing buyer network, resulting in more locally grown, certified food entering the Hawai'i supply chain and reducing our state?s dependence on imports. Local residents will be able to purchase food grown in the state rather than flown into the state. Overall this positively impacts the economy by growing businesses and keeping Hawaii dollars working in Hawai'i.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
71214993020100%
Knowledge Area
712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins;

Subject Of Investigation
1499 - Vegetables, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The vast majority of Hawai'i farms are smaller than 10 acres7 and because of low volumes and inconsistent production, most sell directly to consumers at farmers? markets, roadside stands, or CSA programs. Access to larger, more consistent markets is a significant challenge for small farms due to a perceived high cost and complexity of food safety certification. New market access for small Hawai'i Farms necessitates the adoption of food safety certification, a key requirement for most of larger commercial and institutional markets. The overarching goals of the Opening New Markets for Small Farms by Expanding Hawai'i?s USDA GroupGAP Food Safety Certification Program are 1.) to inform and educate Hawai'i producers about the Hawai'i GroupGAP (HGGAP) program and the requirements needed to attain USDA Harmonized GAP certification through the program, and 2.) to expand the number of farms in the Hawai'i GroupGAP program in order to reduce costs to participating farms and ensure the long-term sustainability of the program.Objective 1 is to inform and educate Hawai'i produce farmers through a combination of in-person and virtual outreach and education events focused on the importance, benefits, and financial value of food safety certification including access to new markets. These events will dispel the widespread perception that food safety certification is unnecessary, too expensive, and/or too difficult for most small farms to attain and will demonstrate the growing need for food safety documentation required to access many new markets. Farmer outreach will be focused on 4 types of events: 1.) GroupGAP webinars will introduce farmers to the USDA GAP food safety certification process and Hawaii Group GAP (HGGAP); 2.) Harmonized GAP H-GAP) Farm Days will provide a hands-on experience where farmers observe on-farm activities related to GAP implementation and documentation; 3.) HeavyConnect (HC) Demonstrations will showcase new digital technology that reduces the administrative burden of food safety record keeping and audit preparation; and 4.) Partner Outreach Events will address a wide range of GAP-related topics including food safety, pesticide handling, water testing, and new market access with participation from non-governmental and community-based organizations, University of Hawai'i (UH) extension, and local distributors.Objective 2 is to expand the number of participating farms and the statewide reach of the HGGAP program. Expanding participation in HGGAP will help to stabilize the costs associated with auditing the group farms by reducing the number of external audits needed for 3rd party verification. Long-term sustainability of HGGAP depends on continued certification success and documentation of increased sales from farms entering new markets. Increased participation resulting from targeted outreach will position HGGAP to pursue non-grant funding from private philanthropic and institutional supporters who are poised to invest in an upward track record of success leading to increases in local production. During the project performance period two cohorts of farms will be accepted into the HGGAP program and have the opportunity to receive the training and technical assistance needed to obtain their USDA Harmonized GAP certification.
Project Methods
North Shore EVP will engage a broad spectrum of small to medium-sized producers in outreach and education events that will assist in motivating some farms to pursue Harmonized GAP (H-GAP) food safety certification through Hawaii GroupGAP (HGGAP). Working with our partners, we will identify food safety topics of interest to Hawaii producers and gather experts from federal, state and local agencies and organizations to tailor in-depth outreach to our target audience. We will review partner pre- and post-event surveys to gauge effectiveness and provide information on modifying presentations and identifying future topics of interest.Pre- and post-event surveys at GroupGAP webinars will measure what new information was provided to webinar participants and will explore the future intent of webinar participants to implement the knowledge they gained during the webinar.Smaller groups of farmers that attend Harmonized GAP Farm Days will be queried about whether their expectations of the work and effort required to implement food safety practices had changed after seeing first-hand what actually is needed to attain food safety certification from a colleague who has successfully earned H-GAP certification. They will be asked to provide suggestions on how to improve the Harmonized GAP Farm Days in the future.Record keeping is a significant hurdle for many smaller operations. At HeavyConnect demonstrations farmers will be asked through pre- and post-event surveys about their initial perceptions about food safety record keeping in general and how the demonstration has changed that perception positively or negatively. During the demonstration we will provide participants with the opportunity to fill in mock records and thereby measure the ease of adoption of and comfortability with the technology. We will work to identify specific areas of record keeping and use of the technology that are of most concern to these farmers and introduce new approaches to address those concerns in future demonstrations.At both the Harmonized GAP Farm Days and HeavyConnect demonstrations farmers will be asked if they are interested in pursuing H-GAP certification and if they would like a follow-up consultation with North Shore EVP. This metric will be measured through gathering contact information from interested producers and maintaining a log of our follow up consultations.The success of the Hawaii GroupGAP farms will be measured by the numbers of farms successfully completing training and receiving their Harmonized GAP certification. Farmers accepted into the Hawaii GroupGAP program have ample opportunity to provide feedback during classroom instructions, on-farm visits and internal audits.The HGGAP Program is evaluated annually in a number of ways. During the cohort training program, an assessment of the success of the training provided is obtained via the results of the internal audit that each operation completes. In each cohort, an internal audit is conducted on each farm in the cohort, following the classroom training and prior to the third party audit, using the same audit checklist as the third party audit. The internal audit reveals the areas where the operation is not in compliance; for example where it does not have the correct documents, is lacking food safety policy, or is not adhering to its own written policy. The number of corrective actions needed are an indicator to the success of the farm?s internal audit and the training that has been given. In subsequent years, a lower number of corrective actions needed indicates the farm has successfully implemented many of the requirements of the audit and absorbed the training content.Following any audit, corrective actions are identified and scheduled for completion. The number of farms successfully completing their corrective actions and meeting the GAP certification criteria are an indicator of the success of the training program.Upon completion of each year?s third party audits, all participating farms in the group are invited to a GroupGAP Debrief, where suggestions and feedback are solicited from the group so that improvements can be made and the program content can be further refined to achieve success in food safety certifications among this demographic of producers.Farms leaving the HGGAP program undergo an exit survey so that we fully understand the reason for withdrawal, whether it is internal to HGGAP practices and / or processes or external to situations on farms or other conditions affecting that farm?s ability to continue in the program.Regular assessments of all farms are conducted annually since H-GAP compliance requires both an annual self audit by the producer and 2 internal audits in addition to the third party audits conducted by USDA. Furthermore, as the program administrators, our food safety staff review each operations? food safety records weekly to ensure consistent adherence to their farm food safety policies and USDA GAP compliance criteria. Regular record keeping is a key indicator of consistently applied food safety practices.

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Many producers in Hawai?i are operating on small acreage (less than 10 acres) and have limited market access. North Shore EVP initiated a USDA GroupGAP program on one island (O?ahu) in 2016, and began promoting food safety certification through GroupGAP as a way to achieve a greater market penetration and to prepare for compliance to the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. The Hawai?i GroupGAP program grew primarily through word of mouth and targeted recruitment. Within a few years it became clear that food safety certification assistance was desired across the state, and outreach efforts were needed to raise awareness of the Hawai?i GroupGAP program. Historically, some of the resistance among small and medium sized producers in Hawai?i to pursuing food safety certification had been that record keeping was onerous and time consuming. As the Hawai?i GroupGAP program evolved, we sought a digital solution to record keeping that would be efficient and inexpensive. We identified HeavyConnect, a smartphone-based food safety data collection and management app and after a trial period with three (3) different producers in 2020, began to use this platform in our program. The app greatly simplified recordkeeping on the farm level and by allowing our staff to see all farm records in real time, significantly reduced the administrative burden of food safety data management and audit preparation. However, non-certified producer concerns around record keeping were still a primary topic in any discussion of food safety compliance. Specifically, producers who do not maintain records regularly often assume there are more documents to maintain than what is required, and that the data is difficult to input. Many found that these concerns were greatly reduced if not alleviated once they were able to participate in a demonstration of the HeavyConnect app and complete test records in it. Our target audience for this project was Hawai'i produce farmers (farmers growing fruits and vegetables) eligible for and interested in obtaining USDA Harmonized GAP certification as well as local buyers interested in learning about an accessible way for their supplier farms to obtain food safety certification through the GroupGAP program, including efficient and robust recordkeeping provided by a digital platform (HeavyConnect). Our secondary audience was any grower interested in learning about GroupGAP and/or digital recordkeeping, and how these methods can help them build successful farming operations. The intention in reaching out to any growers interested in GroupGAP or digital recordkeeping was to raise awareness that food safety certification is achievable and that both technical assistance and affordable digital technology are available. We chose to expand our audience to growers beyond Hawai?i who were interested in obtaining certification because, through our participation in a Food Safety and Quality Community of Practice led by the Wallace Center, we have found that small growers across the country experience many of the same challenges regardless of location. GroupGAP programs are very active in some areas of the nation: producers experiencing limited market access may be able to connect with one of these groups if they know what to look for. Further, improvement in operational and/or food systems practices can be a result of exposure to new ideas, whether through a webinar, video, or in person touchpoints. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has offered significant professional development opportunities for our team, particularly through the facilitation of outreach events. These experiences have enhanced our team members' communication and organizational skills in two key areas: Partner Engagement: Team members have learned how to effectively reach out to new and existing partners to coordinate our participation in their events. As our partner network expands, our team has become more strategic and adaptable in our planning efforts to align our programs objectives with the needs and goals of a diverse set of stakeholders. Public Presentation Skills: Delivering succinct and impactful overviews of our GroupGAP training program to both live and virtual audiences has sharpened our team's ability to communicate complex information to farmers, some of whom lack strong English language skills.. These presentations were tailored for varied audiences, including farmers, aggregators, and industry stakeholders, ensuring clarity and relevance for each group. Moreover, our collaboration with Sysco local buyers, particularly Armstrong Produce, has opened avenues to elevate many of our current GroupGAP member operations to the USDA Harmonized GAP+ certification standard. This strategic move is vital for ensuring producers remain eligible to sell to national chain retailers through Armstrong and positions them for greater commercial and institutional market opportunities. We have also strengthened relationships with local aggregators and food hubs, laying the groundwork for a proposed pilot project aimed at supporting these entities in achieving USDA Harmonized GAP+ certification for post-harvest handling. This initiative aligns with Hawai?i's legislative mandate to source 30% of the state's departmental food locally by 2050, including the statewide, $24M Department of Education student food purchasing budget. By supporting producers and aggregators in meeting rigorous food safety standards, we are directly contributing to the state's goals for local food purchasing and agricultural sustainability. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination of project results has been accomplished in the following manner: Western Rural Development Center's (WRDC) Newsletter: We submitted two summaries of our project outreach events to the WRDC newsletter, one in each year of the project. Both summaries were included in the WRDC Annual Reports, increasing visibility and sharing key outcomes with a broader audience. Hawai'i State Department of Agriculture Updates: Regular updates were provided to the Hawai'i State Department of Agriculture. These updates highlighted program achievements, including the successful adoption of food safety certifications through Hawai'i GroupGAP and increased producer preparedness for FSMA Produce Safety Rule compliance. These updates strengthened collaboration and ensured alignment with state-level agricultural initiatives. Social Media Outreach: Social media platforms, specifically Instagram and Facebook, were used to disseminate information and announce events. This strategy enhanced community engagement and reached a diverse audience. Seven (7) social media posts advertising HGAP Farm Days Seven (7) social media posts sharing GGAP Informational Webinars Eleven (11) social media posts advertising various Partner Outreach events Quarterly Reports to private funder Ulupono Initiative: A total of eight (8) quarterly reports were submitted to Ulupono Initiative during the project period. These reports provided detailed metrics, including: the total number of farmers in the GroupGAP program, number of applicants to each training cohort, and number of outreach events attended or hosted by North Shore EVP. This consistent reporting ensures transparency and accountability to our program supporters. Ulupono Initiative is a long standing supporter and funder of our program. Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety Meeting: Project Director Kevin Kelly and Food Safety Director Lisa Rhoden attended and presented a poster at the 8th Annual Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety Meeting hosted in Hilo, HI May 1-2, 2024. During this two day in-person meeting we had the opportunity to share our project's progress and learn from other FSOP awardees in the Western Region, fostering cross-regional collaboration. Hawai?i GroupGAP Farmer Newsletters: In the second quarter of 2024 we launched our Hawai?i GroupGAP Member Farm Newsletter series. These newsletters are aimed to share important updates and training resources with program members, To date three (3) newsletters have been shared. These newsletters have included: links to HeavyConnect refresher training videos, information on updated USDA Harmonized GAP Standard requirements, and notices on available funding opportunities, such as the USDA's Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program, which helps producers cover costs associated with food safety certification. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Accomplishments under Objective 1 Held four (4) Harmonized GAP (HGAP) Farm Days. Conducted five (5) GroupGAP Informational Webinars. Participated in six (6) partner outreach events. Facilitated ten (10) HeavyConnect digital record-keeping demonstrations for various partners and potential GroupGAP program participants. A. Harmonized GAP (HGAP) Farm Days (4) Harmonized GAP Farm Days are in-person events held at an operation that has achieved Harmonized GAP (HGAP) certification or is working towards certification. HGAP Farm Days focused on educating attendees on general on-farm food safety practices through first-hand demonstrations on a working operation. These events were incredibly beneficial to producers, with farmers learning directly from other farmers. Throughout the duration of our project, the most common concerns brought up by Farm Day attendees were the overall costs associated with food safety certification and recordkeeping. In year one, two events were held on O'ahu and Kaua'i in November 2022 and February 2023, with 22 attendees. Surveys showed 100% of attendees learned something new, and 11 expressed interest in future events. Year two saw two more events on Hawai'i and Maui islands in November 2023 and June 2024. The first event at Ho'onani Harvests on Hawai'i Island had nine attendees, all of whom reported learning new practices. The second event on Maui had five attendees, but due to the impact of the Lahaina fires, it focused more on disaster relief with a smaller food safety component. B. GroupGAP Informational Webinars (5) GroupGAP Informational Webinars provide overviews of the Hawai'i GroupGAP program. In year one, two webinars were held in November 2022 and June 2023, with 17 and 16 attendees respectively. Surveys indicated increased knowledge, with 100% of participants in the June 2023 webinar gaining new insights into food safety and GroupGAP. Year two included three webinars: one in English and one in Mandarin Chinese (hosted through a USDA 2501 grant) in November 2023, and a third in April 2024. These webinars were recorded and posted online, accumulating 153 views. C. Partner Outreach Events (6) Partner outreach events helped us increase awareness of our Hawai?i GroupGAP program as we were able to meet farmers outside of our existing network, including those who were not seeking food safety training but attended an event for other reasons. Throughout the course of the project, the number of farmers interested in the program increased after these events. In year one, five events were held, including a tour of Armstrong Produce in May 2023 attended by 50 farmers. The Maui County Department of Agriculture's September 2023 fair saw 27 farmers engage with our program. These events expanded our network and led to applications for the program. Year two involved four partner events, including presentations at Kaua'i County Farm Bureau (61 attendees), GoFarm Hawai'i (11 attendees), and Ho?ola Farms on Hawai'i Island (19 attendees). We also engaged 13 students through USDA's AgDiscovery summer program, introducing them to agricultural career paths. D. HeavyConnect Demonstrations (10) HeavyConnect, a digital food safety recordkeeping platform, was showcased through live demonstrations and recorded videos at various events. Year one saw five demonstrations, including at HGAP Farm Days and partner events. A total of 22 people were introduced to the platform. In year two, four in-person demonstrations were held, reaching 64 farmers across Kaua'i, O'ahu, Maui, and Hawai'i islands.In addition to the four (4) in-person HC demonstrations in project year two, we created a total of sixteen (16) pre-recorded videos to demonstrate various aspects of record keeping on the HC digital platform, intended for our current GroupGAP member operations. The goal of these demonstrations was to provide refresher training that was easily accessible and specific to the digital recordkeeping platform they are using. Adoption of a new skill takes time, and not all records are filled out on a daily or weekly basis; for those that are required monthly or annually, remembering where to find the record and how to complete it can be difficult initially. Providing demonstration (or refresher) training in person is desirable but not always possible due to geographic distance and timing. Recorded training allows the producer to view the recording when and as many times as needed, and provides the ability to pause and replay a section(s). Recording the training is efficient as well. Producers that requested assistance with specific records tasks (how to collect production data) or those with customized logs were able to receive targeted service. We were also able to provide language support for an operation preferring Spanish, resulting in a set of resources (six (6) videos) for future Spanish speaking producers entering Hawai?i GroupGAP. HeavyConnect Demonstration/Refresher training videos Total number of demos/refresher videos: 10 Total view count: 55 Topics: Recordkeeping Frequency, Traceability/Mock Recall, Farm Update Report, Water Delivery System Assessment, Visitor Log, Download Content from Binders, Locate Your Internal Audit Report, HC Scheduler Module demo, Collect Production Data Total number of Spanish refresher videos: 6 Accomplishments under Objective 2: Successful engagement with four (4) producers from Maui. Twelve (12) site visits (GAP Analysis) to operations across three (3) islands. Two (2) cohorts of farms totaling to twenty two (22) operations. Twenty six (26) producers from all main islands. Solidified relationships with five (5) local buyers. Acquired three (3) new funding sources. Two (2) training cohorts offered annually.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Our target audience is Hawai'i produce farmers eligible for and interested in obtaining USDA Harmonized GAP certification (farmers growing fruits and vegetables) and local buyers who can learn about a way for their suppliers to obtain food safety certification through GroupGAP, including efficient and robust record keeping provided by a digital platform (HeavyConnect). Our secondary audience is any grower interested in learning about GroupGAP and or digital record keeping, and how these methods can help them in their operation. This occurs primarily through our webinars. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Facilitating outreach events has provided professional development opportunities for our team members as they have had to improve their communication skills to (1) learn how to reach out to partners (in some cases new partners) to structure our participation in their event, and (2) learn the best methods to deliver a meaningful and succinct overview of our GroupGAP training program in front of both live and virtual audiences, made up of farmers as well as industry stakeholders. The project will provide training opportunities for farmers who apply to a future USDA GroupGAP training cohort and prepare for USDA HGAP food safety certification. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Notices and results of our outreach events were disseminated through the Western Rural Development Center's (WRDC) newsletter in February 2023. We have also shared event photos on our social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, and with organizational partners such as Ulupono Initiative and Hawaii Department of Agriculture. Leveraging the support provided by our USDA 2501 project, we have also translated our GroupGAP program brochures into Mandarin and Thai. We use our NIFA food safety outreach efforts to make this GroupGAP information available to a wider audience of farmers in Hawai?i. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we will execute a HeavyConnect food safety data management demonstration in early 2024. This demonstration will focus on how the HeavyConnect tool can be used to assist buyers in gathering needed information from farm suppliers who are using the tool and streamlining the communication process for orders. We will participate in a partner outreach event at one of our GroupGAP program farms on O?ahu December 9, 2023, providing an opportunity to speak with farmers and local residents. We will participate in at least two (2) more partner outreach events targeting Hawai?i and Kaua?i island farmers in year 2 of the project. We will plan a HGAP Farm Day with a partner farm on Maui island, with a target date in the second quarter of 2024. HeavyConnect demonstrations will be incorporated into all of our future events. We will also continue to provide summaries of our outreach activities to the WRDC for dissemination in their newsletter. In early 2024 we will create a newsletter for distribution to our partners in Hawaii, including Hawaii Department of Agriculture, USDA Farm Service Agency, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Farmers Union United, Ulupono Initiative, and University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension, with information on past and upcoming events. Upcoming events, including details on signing up, are always shared with these and other partners statewide to distribute through their networks and posted on our website and social media channels.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Under Objective 1, since the initiation of our project in September 2022, we have held 3 Harmonized GAP Farm Days, 4 GroupGAP Informational Webinars, and participated in 3 partner outreach events, as proposed. We have also facilitated 4 HeavyConnect digital record keeping demonstrations to various partners and potential GroupGAP program participants. Harmonized GAP (HGAP) Farm days: Harmonized GAP Farm Days are in-person events held on a Harmonized GAP (HGAP) certified farm or one working towards certification. They are designed similarly to a crop field day, but instead of viewing crops, HGAP farm days focus on farmers, buyers, and the public attending the event to learn about, and see first-hand, general food safety practices and specific ones in use at that farm. These events are incredibly beneficial to producers who can see how practices are implemented in a real operation and can talk directly with other farmers and farm employees about the challenges and successes of practice implementation. Costs, and record keeping are some of the most common concerns around food safety certification. HGAP Farm days were held on O'ahu and Kaua'i islands respectively in November 2022 and February 2023. A total of 22 attendees took part in the two events. Event surveys indicate that the ability to showcase practices in person at HGAP Farm Days are useful, with 8 attendees reporting that they knew something about food safety prior to the events, and 22 attendees reporting that they learned something new after the events. Eleven (11) attendees reported that they would be interested in attending a similar event in the future. A third Farm Day was held recently on Hawai?i Island on November 18, 2023. A total of 9 attendees took part in the event. The farm that hosted this event is not a HGAP certified farm but is managed by a farmer who manages another HGAP certified farm at a local school. Due to challenges with holding the event at the school farm, we chose the alternative site. At the start of this event, 6 attendees reported that they knew about food safety practices and 4 reported that they implement them on their farms. At the close of the event, all 9 reported that they learned something useful at the event, all 9 reported that they plan to implement food safety practices in their operations, and all 9 reported that they would be likely to attend a similar event in the future. Additionally a few attendees were interested in applying for a GroupGAP training cohort in the future. GroupGAP Informational Webinars?: GroupGAP Informational Webinars are virtual events designed to provide a brief overview of the Hawai'i GroupGAP program, how it works, and why it is beneficial. These webinars include a variety of speakers, including buyers, farmers from our group, and our own staff. GroupGAP Informational Webinars were held in November 2022 and June 2023. Both webinars saw over a dozen attendees (17 and 16 attendees, respectively). Each webinar lasted approximately 90 minutes and included two farmer testimonials from currently certified Hawaii GroupGAP members. In addition to the testimonial videos, a representative from Fresh Point/Sysco presented on how farmers could prepare to sell their product to the Hawai'i Sysco buyers (Armstrong Produce). Our first webinar survey data was lost due to a technical glitch in Zoom but results from our second webinar (June 2023) showed an increase in knowledge about food safety and GroupGAP (from 60% pre-event to 100% post-event). Only 30% of attendees indicated that they had participated in a similar event prior to the webinar, and 100% reported it was likely that they would participate in another similar event. On November 16, 2023, we held 2 GroupGAP Informational Webinars back to back, with one presented in English and the second presented in Mandarin Chinese. There were 21 participants registered for the English presentation, and 7 participants attended the Mandarin presentation. We were awarded a USDA 2501 Program grant in 2022 to translate our GroupGAP training materials and brochure into Mandarin and Thai languages to make our training and the USDA GroupGAP program more accessible to farmers who do not speak English as a first language. Holding the GroupGAP webinar in Mandarin as well as English allows us to engage more equitably with Mandarin speaking farmers in Hawai'i. We have also leveraged the outreach opportunities presented by the 2501 project to provide outreach about food safety and the GroupGAP program. To date, this has resulted in an additional 4 outreach events that we've attended to reach Thai and Mandarin speaking farmers and provide USDA GroupGAP information. These informational webinars are helpful and timely for farmers interested in joining Hawai?i GroupGAP because they receive a general program overview before completing an application to the program. In each webinar time is reserved so that attendees can ask any detailed questions they have about the program at the end of the presentation. Since the November webinar, we have received 2 applications to our next GroupGAP cohort from attendees of the event. GroupGAP Informational Webinars are recorded and posted to our website and YouTube channel as well. Based on analytics from our YouTube channel, our November 2022 webinar has been viewed 63 times, and our more recent June 2023 webinar viewed 6 times. The most recent webinars have just been uploaded and we will report on views in our next reporting period.

    Publications