Food Systems Accelerator
Food. It is global, historical, and deeply personal. In recent years, food systems and our reliance on them has felt more present, more critical than ever. As a place of islands, Hawaiʻi has a rich and long legacy of foodways and resilience. Today, Hawaiʻi continues to host a rich ecosystem of people, ideas and efforts around food. Yet, despite this abundance, Hawaiʻi continues to struggle in manifesting large-scale systemic change for its food systems. As a state, Hawaiʻi is one of the most food insecure in the United States.
Based on the work of Hawaiʻi Investment Ready (HIR) and its partners both before and during the pandemic, HIR is pursuing a new and innovative systems-based, multi-stakeholder approach for its accelerator program, through which we seek to activate meaningful momentum towards a viable and equitable post-plantation agriculture and food system for Hawaiʻi.
Hawaiʻi Investment Ready Announces New Food Systems Accelerator Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Honolulu, Hawaiʻi (February 2022) — Hawaiʻi Investment Ready, a local impact investing nonprofit, today announced the launch of its new Hawaiʻi Food Systems Accelerator program. Since its founding in 2013, Hawaiʻi Investment Ready (HIR) has graduated over 50 enterprises (nonprofits and mission-driven businesses) across four cohorts through its social enterprise accelerator. The new Food Systems Accelerator represents HIR’s evolution to better target systems-level challenges and opportunities. In particular, food supply chain vulnerabilities daylighted by the global COVID-19 pandemic have elevated an urgency to invest in the State’s goal to double local food production.
“COVID changed the landscape and made me rethink how we can best serve Hawaiʻi in its urgent and necessary economic transformation,” said Keoni Lee, Hawaii Investment Ready CEO. “Typically, accelerators aim to strengthen and scale the individual enterprises that participate in their programs, but this new approach takes it a step further to strengthen and resource the system as a whole.”
The HIR Hawaiʻi Food Systems Accelerator comprises two complementary cohorts – the Enterprise Cohort and the Funder Cohort. The cohorts represent high-potential innovators across the food system value chain and funders from government, philanthropic, and private sectors who share a common objective of a viable and resilient local food system. The intention of bringing these groups together is to build relationships and increase collective capacity to seed possibilities for deeper systems-level collaboration and problem-solving.
“As Hawai’i becomes more aware of the need to put a stake in the ground of food security, working with Hawaii Investment Ready and our food colleagues is essential and exciting,” said Patti Chang, CEO and co-founder of Feed The Hunger Fund. “Our participation in the accelerator will provide limitless opportunities as we are poised for a new level of growth.”
“Kamehameha Schools believes in partners like HIR and ʻōiwi leaders like Keoni and Lisa who put their name and careers on the line for the sake of a better Hawaiʻi,” said Lauren Nahme, VP Strategy & Innovation for Kamehameha Schools. “The vision to align the accelerator to food systems is courageous and critical. We are excited to support this effort in the seemingly impossible food space that requires our collective ears, brains, advocacy, and capital. Pūpūkahi i holomua.”
“The global impact investing community has embraced solving for food systems as critical to the sustainability and health of people and planet,” said Lisa Kleissner, co-founder and board chair of HIR and KL Felicitas Foundation. “HIR’s system-level approach is a template how to build equity and resilience not only into regional food systems, but also into areas of basic community needs, such as housing, regenerative tourism, and circular economy waste management.”
The Food Systems Accelerator starts later this month and will culminate with a public pitch event this fall.
HIR Cohort 5: Food Systems Enterprises
- Farm Link Hawaiʻi – Oʻahu
- Feed The Hunger Fund – Statewide
- Hawaiʻi Food Hub Hui – Statewide
- Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance – Statewide
- Hui Mālama i ke Ala Uliuli – Hawaiʻi
- Iwikua – Kauaʻi
- Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation – Oʻahu
- Miko Foods – Hawaiʻi
- Pacific Gateway Center – Oʻahu
- Piko Provisions- Oʻahu
- Intrapreneur Participant: Mahi Pono – Maui
HIR Food Systems Funder Cohort
Lia Sheehan, Atherton Family Foundation
Dexter Kishida, City & County of Honolulu, OER
Jason Okuhama, Commercial & Business Lending
Sarah Freeman, County of Hawaiʻi R&D
Danya Hakeem, Elemental Excelerator
Eric Bowman, Feed the Hunger Fund
Aaron Ellis, Feed the Hunger Fund
Janel Yamamoto, GoFarm Hawaiʻi
Daisy Chung, Hawaiʻi Community Foundation
Nicole Milne, Hawaiʻi Good Food Fund
Usha Kilpatrick, The Healy Foundation
Jessica Scheeter, Johnson Ohana Foundation (JOF)
Lisa Kimura, Kaiser Permanente
Kim Johnson, JOF / Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation
Pia Chock, Kamehameha Schools
Bethany Hull, Kamehameha Schools
Ken Tyson, Kamehameha Schools
Natalie McKinney, Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation
Abigail Perrin, Nuestro Futuro Foundation
Mary Spadaro, Slow Money Hawaiʻi
Aileen Suzara, Stupski Foundation
Greg Gaug, Ulupono Initiative
Denise Salmeron, USDA Rural Development
Marisa Hayase, The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
About Hawaiʻi Investment Ready (HIR)
Since its founding in 2013, HIR has primarily been known as an accelerator program capacity-building Hawaiʻi enterprises and funders. HIR has graduated 50+ impact enterprises (nonprofits and mission-driven businesses) across 4 cohorts. As part of its broader mission to rebuild an economy that serves all of Hawaiʻi, the impact investing nonprofit accelerates the coordination and collaboration of capital to seed and scale solutions for social, environmental, and financial well-being.
To learn more about Hawaiʻi Investment Ready, click here.
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