North Shore NewsAbout North Shore EVP
The North Shore Economic Vitality Partnership was formed in 2015 in response to a comprehensive, community-based economic analysis that included the identification existing resources and regional opportunities for job growth. North Shore EVP, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is providing the leadership to engage organizations and community leaders, analyze new opportunities, and implement actionable strategies that will contribute to our economic prosperity. We are uniquely positioned to build new civic leadership, strengthen communication and collaboration, and engage communities across all of Hawaii.
Current Projects
Many small farms would like to sell to larger markets such as restaurants, grocery stores, and schools. However, small production volumes, inconsistent availability, and new farm food safety regulations are significant obstacles. North Shore EVP is working with farmers and agriculture leaders in state and across the country to focus best practices and innovation on building robust and highly competitive small farm communities in Hawaii.
GroupGAP Food Safety Training
Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) is an audit certification program created by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is based on guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration. GAP practices encompass monitoring of worker health and hygiene, soil amendments, water for growing and post-harvest operations, animals on or around the farm, and crop protection tools. A certificate indicating GAP compliance identifies the farm as having been inspected and successfully implemented on farm food safe practices. GAP certification has increasingly become a requirement for retailers, making it difficult for small farmers to sell their goods because of the rigor and cost required to obtain traditional GAP certification. Implementation of new food safety laws in January 2020 will further exacerbate this situation. Despite these challenges, many farms see the advantages of food safety certification: it’s a strong marketing tool, opens new markets, and shows consumers that the farm has a commitment to food safety. GroupGAP is a new USDA food safety certification option that can increase opportunities for smaller farms to supply GAP-certified produce. This robust certification process addresses many challenges that small farms face in complying with food safety audits, and meets the demands of the retail, food service, and institutional buying community. The program builds a network of partner farms that, as a group, share safety, quality standards, and training with the goals of accessing newmarkets, diversifying revenue streams and increasing production and profitability.
North Shore EVP is the first USDA GroupGAP program in Hawaii and only the 15th in the nation. Nineteen Oahu farms (13 from the North Shore) are currently participating in this program. The Hawaii GroupGAP network is now receiving inquiries from communities across the state and plans are underway to expand this training to non-English speaking and socially disadvantaged farmers too.
Food Hub and Learning Center
Our economic analysis documented the North Shore community’s desire to preserve open space, retain our rural lifestyle, and support agriculture as one of the primary drivers of economic growth in the region. It also identified a fledging agricultural supply chain and recommended building a regional food hub to support the growth and sustainability of small farms on the North Shore. Among regions with a concentration of small farms, food hubs provide a practical solution for farmers and communities wishing to preserve and grow their ag-based economies. For farmers, food hubs allow farms to focus on what they do best, growing crops, and pass the expensive and time-consuming post-harvest work of cleaning, packing, sorting, cold storing, marketing and distribution on to the hub. By aggregating the production of many small farms, the
food hub can tap in to large markets currently unavailable to small producers by providing the quantity and consistency of locally grown, food safety certified products required by most large buyers.
Contact Information:
Website: www.nsevp.org
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Email: info@nsevp.org
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