Progress 07/01/23 to 06/30/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Aloha Harvest assists vulnerable and at-risk members of the community, serving individuals and families who are food insecure by partnering with, and providing support to, social service and charitable agencies. Data provide by our recipient agencies show that end consumers include the houseless (22%), unemployed (36%), Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (46%), children (29%), seniors (16%), and individuals with mental illness, substance abuse, or disabilities (10%). For twenty five (25) years, Aloha Harvest has addressed food waste and food security, through economic downturns, pandemics, and other major events. While we are cautiously optimistic about the future, we know there is still a significant problem to address. Hawaii Foodbank's recent report, The State of Food Insecurity in Hawaii, cites 1 in 3 households in Hawaii as being food insecure. Changes/Problems:Leadership Changes Aloha Harvest started writing this project proposal during COVID-19, and the Executive Director who submitted the proposal departed prior to this project starting up. There was a four-month gap between thatED's departure and the current PD'sarrival, so this report writer was unable to discuss the thoughts, assumptions, and nuances with the original Project Director. Needless to say, getting this project started took time and a lot ofhard work. Now, this PD is alsoleaving Aloha Harvest. The difference between now and then, however, is that the incoming Project Director has played an active role in getting this project operational. The transition between the outgoing and incoming Project Directors should be seamless, however all changes take time and adjustment. Changing Economic Conditions The Lahaina Fires occured in August 2023, leaving Hawaii with two disasters (COVID-19 and the Lahaina Fire) to recover from. Combined with State tax cuts, the disasters have caused expenses to go up, while the tax cuts potentially lead to less funding being avaialble to non-profits via Grants in Aid or similar vehicles.The rising expenses also lead to less free funds being available, and as Aloha Harvest enters the fund-development phase of its project, this could present a barrier to starting itscapital campaign. These changing economic conditions cause Aloha Harvest to look at its future with guarded optimism. Verifying Data Related to The Number of Persons Served As a transportation and logistics service provider connecting Food Donors and Recipient Agencies, Aloha Harvest depends on the Recipient Agencies to provide data on who ultimately receives donated food. Aloha Harvest is reviewing its procedures for acquiring and verifying reported data and will collaborate with Recipient Agencies on process changes and advise them of our updated expectations. Aloha Harvest is also working more closely with industry partners, such as Hawaii Foodbank, to create a more unified approach to documenting the number of persons served. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?As mentioned in the previous section, Aloha Harvest is exploringthe creation of a workforce development program for the fish-processing industry in Hawaii. By educating and training candidatesinterested in processing fish, Aloha Harvest could create a stable group to help break down rescued fish. Thisprogram wouldalso allow for: Easier distribution of portioned servings into the community Strengthening of thefish-processing labor pool Better management of fish processing waste product Aloha Harvest once again worked closely with the City and County of Honolulu Department of Emergency Management on the Prepositioned Emergency Food Pallets at Hawaii Department of Education Schools project. This project, a disaster response effort, allowed Aloha Harvest to work with Honolulu's emergency-response coordinators. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Aloha Harvest releases quarterly Newsletters and an Annual Report. Other messaging routes include our social-media pagesand various outreach efforts via podcasts, newscasts, or similar touchpoints. Aloha Harvest also maintains close relationships with food donors and recipient agencies. Through theseelectronic/print media as well as personalinteractions, Aloha Harvest shares its efforts and results. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To further develop its Resilience Hub, Aloha Harvest continues to discuss forward movement on a community-based pantry project. The goal of the community based pantry is to create food-distribution sites, managed by Aloha Harvest, which empower communities to support themselves. Currently there is a delay in getting supplies donated to create the pantries; a contractor has been selected to build the pantries once the supplies are procured. The design partners have requested confidentiality, so the project-concept document is not currently available. Aloha Harvest continues to maintain communication with the project collaborators. While the project is behind schedule, Aloha Harvest maintains hope that the project will begin before the end of 2024. A key goal forPhase 3 of the Reslience Hub project is securing a warehouse facility. Aloha Harvest was very close to achieving this goal early, as it sent ina Community Project Funding Request to Congressman Ed Case in February 2024. Congressman Case expressed his support for the request, however changes to guidancefrom the Appropriations Committee preventingnon-profits from receiving funds ended that pursuit. Instead, Aloha Harvest continues to maintain itsstorage capabilities by leasing warehouse space from stakeholders.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In FY24, Aloha Harvest accomplished the following: AH Food Rescue Operations - July 2023 through June 2024 Total Pounds of Food Rescued 3,141,765 Total Number of Individuals Served Greater than 58,000 Total Number of Active Food Donors475 Total Number of Recipient Agencies 145 Aloha Harvest started Phase II of the Oahu Resilience Food Hub project in July 2023. The Oahu Resilience Food Hub project has two major goals: establishing a more equitable and efficient redistribution model and increasing Aloha Harvest's food storage capacity. The increased storage capacity is critical as Aloha Harvest looks to scale up its emergency management and disaster response stance. To diversify its food-rescue breadth and capacity, Aloha Harvest continues to developpartnerships in the community. The Community Harvest program grew in 2024, and Aloha Harvest is currently establishing a relationship with a second major farm operation. This relationship willallow Aloha Harvest to significantly increase the volume of healthy local produce it rescues each year. In early 2024, Aloha Harvest also started rescuing fresh caught fish through a partnership with United Fishing Agency and The Hawaii Longline Association. This project allows Aloha Harvest to rescue a major local protein source. A bottleneck for this project is the rate at which the fish can be broken down into manageable portions, since the fish are rescued whole from the auction site. Aloha Harvest is currently assessing the challenges of building up a workforce development program to help meet thislabor demand. Finally, 2024 saw the completion of the Oahu Compost Project. This USDA-supported pilot project, led by the City & County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency, resulted in over 30,000 pounds of food being diverted from waste streams and converted into 39,537 pounds of compost. Aloha Harvest was the transportation partner for this project.
Publications
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