KAHULUI, Hawaii — Maui County’s Department of Agriculture will be holding Community Talk Story sessions throughout the county in February through March to gather public input on solutions to be included in the Maui County Food and Nutrition Security Plan.

The plan will guide Maui County over the next five, 10 and 20 years in terms of improving nutrition security, climate and emergency resilience and opportunities for local food producers, according to a news release.

The goal of the plan is to identify existing solutions, improvements needed across Maui County’s food system sectors and policy recommendations to improve food access and nutrition security with special attention on the community’s most vulnerable residents including those recovering from the Lahaina and Upcountry wildfires, kupuna, SNAP-eligible residents, young families and residents of isolated rural communities in East Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

Upcoming sessions are scheduled for:

  • Feb. 13, 5:30-8 p.m. at Pukalani Community Center
  • Feb. 22, 5:30-8 p.m. at Kihei Community Center
  • Feb. 29, 5:30-8 p.m. at Kahului Community Center
  • March 7, 5:30-8 p.m. at Lanai Filipino Club House
  • March 12, 4:30-7 p.m. at Mitchell Pauole Community Center, Kaunakakai
  • March 21, 5:30-8 p.m. in Napili (location to be determined)

A summary of each Talk Story session will be available within a week after each event for public comment here.

People can sign up to receive an email reminder for the session in their area.

Questions can be directed to Lauren Nelson, Maui County Food Access Coordinator with the Maui County Department of Agriculture via email, lauren.nelson@co.maui.hi.us or phone at 808-270-8287.