Tonight, Thursday, September 6, it’s the monthly Waimea Town Meeting.
Tonight’s meeting’s primary topic will be food self sufficiency. The focus will be a recent County of Hawai’i Food Self-Sufficiency Baseline Study by land use planner Jeff Melrose. The study summarizes the results of a new Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping effort that has digitized current agricultural activity on Hawai’i Island. This data provides a 2012 snapshot of farming on this island, which can serve as a baseline to monitor future trends in agriculture land use. This mapping effort also illustrates the variability of agricultural activities island-wide by describing where farming occurs and why.
Also included as part of the study is a thoughtful list of “100 Ways To Increase Food Self-Sufficiency.” To reinforce the fact that Food-Sufficiency is everyone’s kuleana, the list identifies small actions that can lead to big outcomes. It also identifies some fundamental rethinking that will be needed by individual consumers, retailers, food buyers, schools, institutions, hotels and others, including public policy makers.
There will also be an update on plans for the Waimea Regional Park. North Hawaii Community Hospital CEO Ken Wood will give an update on the hospital.
Waimea Town Meeting is open to all. It’s tonight, 5:15, Waimea Middle School cafeteria. There is no charge, but all are urged to bring non-perishable food for the food pantry or cash/check donations.
