As a partner Agency with Maui Food Bank, I support Farm to Family Grant.
We service 160 families and over 1,000 individuals including homeless.
Our clients look forward to fresh produce and appreciate having fresh Produce. Fresh produce is asked more out our distribution. Our homeless would take more fresh produce as staple.
Our distribution depends on having Fresh produce from our Farmers.
Farm to Family is a beneficial benefit to our program
Yolanda PauLynn Caniaveral <yolanda_maui@hotmail.com>

Testimonies received from BFED Committee 04-24-2025

Aloha!

My name is Shawn Wallen, and I am the Program Director at Hale Kau Kau. Hale Kau Kau is Maui’s only daily feeding program. As a ministry of St. Theresa Church, Hale Kau Kau aims to serve our community’s hungry, homeless, homebound, frail, sick, disabled and elderly by improving their lives with a daily nutritious dinner, no questions asked. The number of meals we’ve served since 1991 surpasses 1.6 million.

I am writing with an urgent request for your support of the "Farm to Families" bill, a pivotal piece of legislation that has the potential to transform our Maui’s food security landscape. This bill will allow food distributing organizations to strengthen their partnerships with local farmers and food producers, ensuring that fresh, locally grown produce reaches families facing food insecurity.

This partnership between local farms and food organizations benefits our economy and families in our communities in the following vital ways:

By Enhancing Nutritional Access: Fresh, local produce provides essential nutrients to individuals and families who may otherwise lack access to healthy food options. This not only fights hunger but also promotes long-term health and wellness in our communities.

By Strengthening Maui’s Food Supply Chain: By investing in Maui agriculture, we reduce our dependence on imported goods, creating a more resilient and sustainable food system for Maui.

By Supporting Local Farmers: The bill offers a direct benefit to Maui’s agricultural sector, providing a steady and fair market for local produce. Farmers can plan for future growth knowing their products will feed their neighbors in need. This bill will help Hale Kau Kau with our mission to alleviate hunger by providing nutritious meals to the hungry and homebound in a safe, loving, and supportive environment.

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to our shared vision of a thriving, food-secure Maui. I am deeply grateful for your consideration of this important legislation and stand ready to collaborate with you in any way that may be helpful.

Mahalo!
In His amazing grace,

Shawn Michelle Wallen
Program Director

Hale Kau Kau
25 W. Lipoa Street
Kihei, HI 96753
(808) 875-8754 Office
(808) 875-4674 Fax
swallen@rcchawaii.org
On the web at www.halekaukau.org

Aloha Council Members,
RE: Support of Proposed Budget to Promote the Wedding & Event Industry

You’ve heard from many in the Wedding & Event Industry by now, echoing what I’ve shared about the positive impact of our work on Maui. I want to offer a brief personal story to highlight the deeper connections we create.
Our work is rooted in relationship. Couples come here not just for the beauty, but because Maui touches something sacred in them. They entrust us with life’s most meaningful moments, and in doing so, form a lasting bond with this island.
After the 2023 fires, my past clients reached out in force—offering help, donating thousands, connecting with displaced families, and supporting local efforts with no tax incentive, just love. One couple even gave up their vacation so a local family could stay in the condo they rented. This kind of care is the result of real connection—something few industries create.
We also showed up ourselves. Friends like Darren Keala organized volunteers and supply runs funded by his past and future clients who did not hesitate to act. Sugar Beach Events opened their kitchen and provided food for weeks. Many, many of us showed up to help. We didn’t wait—we acted. That’s aloha in motion.
This is who we are. This is what we do. We’re not just vendors or service providers—we’re stewards, connectors, and part of Maui’s fabric. I hope you’ll keep this in mind as you consider the role our industry plays in the life of our island.
With aloha,
Rev Julienne Givot

Aloha Maui County Council,

There are many examples around the world of targeted investments in local wedding industries yielding clear returns. Returns not only from immediate revenue, but from the quality of visitor engagement and from the resulting small business growth.

Our community is full of hardworking entrepreneurs, eager to grow our economy together. Bolstering our wedding industry will support all of us –not just by bringing in more high-spending visitor groups at a time, but through a groundswell of emotional connection with Maui itself. Destination weddings are different. People travel with their loved ones to mark one of life’s most meaningful moments. And when that moment happens here, amidst our natural beauty, our hospitality, our aloha– it stays with them forever. In startup terms, these are our “power users”. They don’t just visit, they evangelize. Wedding guests become lifetime advocates. They return. They refer. They share Maui as an experience, not just a destination. It’s organic, high-trust marketing at scale, and weddings generate that intrinsically .

Few economic sectors create this kind of emotional gravity, and few places in the world are so naturally positioned to nurture it.

The world has seen what targeted investment can do. Clark County, Nevada reversed a 20-year decline in weddings by creating a $1 million/year marketing fund. Their wedding industry now generates over $2.2 billion per year and supports 18,000 jobs. Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE introduced free visas and a certification program—within one year, they saw wedding revenue from Indian visitors double. Italy created a national wedding tourism strategy, and foreign weddings there jumped 11% in a single season, with revenue projected to hit €1 billion. And in the Mexican Caribbean, investments in venue development helped generate a record 130,000 weddings in 2024 (40% of them from Indian couples, many staying 7–10 days with full guest parties.)

Investing in our wedding industry means supporting local musicians, photographers, chefs, drivers, officiants, event organizers, marketers, and many more. It means more year-round jobs. It means more people falling in love with Maui. I personally believe that weddings are one of the most powerful ways to share the rich spirit of our community, the depth of our culture, and the strength and kindness of our people.

Maui is already one of the most romantic destinations on Earth. We don't need to build that, we just need to support the people who can share it.

Mahalo for your time and leadership,

Jacob van Almelo

Software Engineer,

Pukalani