Building the Social Infrastructure for Food-System Change in Hawaiʻi
Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together
Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together (THFST) is a collaborative, multi-sector initiative working to strengthen statewide capacity and advance a more healthy, equitable, resilient, and ecologically sustainable food system—especially in times of crisis. Grounded in applied research, broad public education, and participatory convening, THFST helps communities and decision-makers move from shared diagnosis to coordinated action by organizing knowledge, relationships, and policy pathways in one accessible place.
Origins and Institutional Home
Founded and launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together (THFST) was initiated and has since been directed by Dr. Albie Miles, in collaboration with many key community partners. The initiative was catalyzed by foundational support from the USDA Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) program and a $1 million W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant awarded to the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu Sustainable Community Food Systems (SCFS) Program, in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute (HIPHI). Today, THFST is a priority project of the Ke Ō Mau Center for Sustainable Island Food Systems within the University of Hawaiʻi System, with key activities fiscally managed by HIPHI.
Our Theory of Food System Change
Guided by the social theory of Gail Feenstra (2002), THFST coordinates the simultaneous stewardship of four essential “spaces” required for lasting food system transformation:
(1) Social Space: Building trust and collaboration across sectors and islands;
(2) Intellectual Space: Developing shared evidence and understanding;
(3) Political Space: Strengthening governance and coordinated policy; and
(4) Economic Space: Aligning investment, workforce, and market pathways.
The Four Essential Spaces
Social
THFST is grassroots and participatory by design. Its annual Hawaiʻi Food System Summit, quarterly+ newsletters, speaker series, and events calendar strengthen relationships and shared purpose across Hawaiʻi’s diverse food-system community. The initiative’s structure and open communication model allow community voices, researchers, farmers, and policymakers to work together toward system-wide resilience and equity.
Intellectual
THFST builds shared understanding and evidence through applied research and public knowledge tools such as the Integrated State Food Policy Framework, Food System Mapping, and Policy & Investment Recommendations database. Its website hosts resources on food-system planning, resilience indicators, and national best practices—turning complex data into accessible, decision-ready knowledge.
Political
THFST helped catalyze Hawaiʻi’s Act 239 (2025), establishing the Interagency Food System Working Group to advance coordinated statewide planning. By connecting community-driven insights to governance, THFST ensures that food systems policy reflects the lived experiences and priorities of Hawaiʻi’s people.
Economic
Through its focus on institutional purchasing, workforce development, and investment-informed planning, THFST helps create viable economic conditions for sustainable local food production and equitable market participation. The initiative’s workforce tools and job databases link education with employment pathways across Hawaiʻi’s growing food systems sector.
The stewardship of these spaces and food system change are made possible together
Our Partners & Collaborators
Exchanging and Learning Alongside Other States and Regions
THFST’s empirical research laid the foundation for the National Community of Practice (NCoP) on State and Regional Food System Planning—co-led by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems and the Ke Ō Mau Center. This effort enables national collaboration based on the lessons learned from Hawaiʻi’s integrated and participatory model.
A national, multi-state community of practice that convenes leaders from current and emerging food system plan efforts across the country to increase our collective knowledge and capacity to collaborate and strengthen local and regional food systems using an equity approach.
Global Reach and Impact
THFST’s digital platform has become an international resource, with over 27,000 users across 49 countries and more than 64,000 page views. This reach demonstrates Hawaiʻi’s leadership in advancing collaborative, evidence-based, and justice-oriented approaches to food-system transformation.
In essence, Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together is not simply a program—it is the social infrastructure that enables transformation. By cultivating the spaces where collaboration, evidence, governance, and investment intersect, THFST provides Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific with a durable model for systemic food-system change.
Global Reach and Impact
THFST’s digital platform has become an international resource, with over 27,000 users across 49 countries and more than 64,000 page views. This reach demonstrates Hawaiʻi’s leadership in advancing collaborative, evidence-based, and justice-oriented approaches to food-system transformation.
In essence, Transforming Hawaiʻi’s Food System Together is not simply a program—it is the social infrastructure that enables transformation. By cultivating the spaces where collaboration, evidence, governance, and investment intersect, THFST provides Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific with a durable model for systemic food-system change.
Political Space
THFST helped catalyze Hawaiʻi’s Act 239 (2025), establishing the Interagency Food System Working Group to advance coordinated statewide planning. By connecting community-driven insights to governance, THFST ensures that food systems policy reflects the lived experiences and priorities of Hawaiʻi’s people.
Economic Space
Through its focus on institutional purchasing, workforce development, and investment-informed planning, THFST helps create viable economic conditions for sustainable local food production and equitable market participation. The initiative’s workforce tools and job databases link education with employment pathways across Hawaiʻi’s growing food systems sector.
Exchanging and Learning Alongside other States and Regions
THFST’s empirical research laid the foundation for the National Community of Practice (NCoP) on State and Regional Food System Planning—co-led by the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems and the Ke Ō Mau Center. This effort enables national collaboration based on the lessons learned from Hawaiʻi’s integrated and participatory model.