From farm to food bank: Kaiser Permanente Hawaii invests in island nutrition

This holiday season, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii is strengthening food security across the Aloha State by supporting nonprofits that expand access to nutritious, locally grown food. The health care system recently awarded grants to four community organizations dedicated to improving food security across the islands.

Food insecurity remains a persistent challenge in Hawaii, where one-third of households and nearly half of families with children struggle to reliably access healthy food. These investments are part of Kaiser Permanente’s ongoing efforts to address social drivers of health within and outside the health care system.

“Access to healthy, affordable food is essential to total health,” said Ed Chan, president of Hawaii Market Kaiser Foundation Health Plan & Hospitals. “By partnering with trusted community organizations across the state, we’re helping families put nutritious meals on the table, supporting local farmers, and improving long-term health outcomes.”

Grant funding will support the following initiatives:

• Purchasing fresh, culturally relevant produce for low-income senior citizens.
• Funding produce subscriptions for individuals participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.
• Distributing nutrition “prescription” boxes, filled with locally grown produce, for Medicaid patients.
• Covering the cost of personnel expenses and program implementation for an initiative that rescues and redistributes surplus food.

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