Resilience Scanner

Food Access Geospatial Mapping Tool for Vulnerable Populations

Solution Overview

The City and County of Honolulu is developing a geospatial mapping tool that overlays food system resources and assets with vulnerable and at-risk populations to assess community needs.[3] This approach serves as a performance metric for the city's food security initiatives and emerged from expert consensus as a critical indicator for measuring food security in Hawaiʻi.[2] The Resilience Office is drafting Honolulu's first-ever Food Systems Plan to guide municipal actions and investments toward creating a sustainable, prosperous, resilient, equitable, and community-based food system.[1]

Technical Components

The Food Access Map integrates multiple data layers to visualize factors affecting food access across Oʻahu, including federal nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC, emergency food assistance program locations such as food banks, and community and school garden sites.[1] The Climate Ready O'ahu mapping tool provides the technical foundation for visualizing communities facing compounded socioeconomic and climate-related challenges.[4] The Resilience Office's methodology layers social vulnerability measures with climate change impacts, including extreme heat, flooding, and sea-level rise.[4] This multi-indicator approach was validated through a Delphi study engaging 24 food security experts in Hawaiʻi, which achieved a 58% response rate in the second round and reached consensus on 55 of 71 metrics, representing 78% agreement on measurement standards.[2]

Implementation Details

Municipal authorities conducted Food Access Micro Summits in Waiʻanae, Kalihi, and Waimānalo in partnership with the City's Office of Economic Revitalization to better understand how the City can support access to healthy and affordable food.[1] The mapping tool serves as one of three performance metrics for Action 16, alongside convening a permanent Emergency Feeding Task Force and developing an O'ahu Emergency Food & Storage Plan.[3] Implementation planning has been informed by the Emergency Feeding Systems Gap Analysis, which identifies weaknesses in Hawaii's emergency feeding systems, including gaps in food distribution networks and resource allocation during disasters.[6] Data collection for vulnerable populations includes information from Aloha Harvest's recipient agencies, showing that end consumers include the houseless (22%), unemployed (36%), Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (46%), children (29%), seniors (16%), and individuals with mental illness, substance abuse, or disabilities (10%).[5]

Benefits and Impacts

The mapping tool helps planners develop a more affordable, accessible, and equitable island food system by visualizing the intersection of food resources and vulnerable populations.[1] This approach addresses a critical need on Oʻahu, where over 28% of residents are food insecure.[1] The Climate Ready O'ahu mapping tool enables identification of communities confronting compounded socioeconomic and climate-related challenges, supporting targeted intervention strategies.[4] The validated metrics framework provides standardized measurement capabilities, with expert consensus achieved on 78% of proposed food security indicators specific to Hawaiʻi's context.[2]

Climate Adaptation Relevance

The system directly addresses climate adaptation by layering social vulnerability measures with climate change impacts such as extreme heat, flooding, and sea-level rise.[4] This integration enables planners to identify communities where food insecurity intersects with climate hazards, supporting resilience planning for emergency feeding systems during climate-related disasters.[6]

Business Analysis

The mapping tool operates within Honolulu's municipal food systems planning framework, guided by the first-ever Food Systems Plan being drafted by the Resilience Office.[1] Implementation involves cross-departmental collaboration between the Resilience Office and the Office of Economic Revitalization, demonstrated through the Food Access Micro Summits conducted in multiple communities.[1] The Emergency Feeding Systems Gap Analysis provides the analytical foundation for resource allocation decisions, identifying weaknesses in food distribution networks and resource allocation during disasters.[6] The performance metrics framework established through the Delphi study provides a validated measurement system for tracking progress, with 78% expert consensus on food security indicators specific to Hawaiʻi.[2]

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