Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism

Agribusiness Development Corporation
For Immediate Release: November 14, 2025

WAHIAWA—Moving forward in its mission in local food sustainability, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) and Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) broke ground on a Central Oahu Agriculture and Food Hub in Wahiawa today.

Remarks were given at the ceremony by state of Hawaii First Lady Jaime Kanani Green; Senate Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz; DBEDT Deputy Director Dane Wicker; and ADC Executive Director Wendy Gady. The blessing was conducted by Kahu Blaine Kamalani Kia.

The complex in Whitmore Village will serve as an innovation base in providing manufacturing and industry services at commercial scale – enabling entrepreneurs to export across the globe. The complex is a partnership between DBEDT, ADC, Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE), Department of Law Enforcement, University of Hawaii (UH) College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) and the UH Community College System, as well as the Department of Accounting and General Services, which is responsible for the infrastructure improvements for the groundbreaking. Goodfellow Bros. is the contractor hired to build and upgrade the roads and infrastructure.

As part of the complex in Whitmore Village, HIDOE is constructing a Central Oahu Regional Kitchen on ADC-owned land. The facility will serve as a statewide model for regional hubs that connect local farms to school cafeterias as part of the state’s farm-to-school initiative.

First Lady Jaime Kanani Green noted how the Central Oahu Agriculture and Food Hub and HIDOE kitchen concepts will provide healthy affordable meals to all public school students.

“Hawaii’s keiki and families deserve access to nutritious, locally prepared meals — every day and especially when times are hardest,” said First Lady Green. “Fighting childhood hunger is about more than nourishment — it’s about building the systems that care for our community before, during and after crises. This is how we fulfill the vision of feeding our keiki: nourishing bodies, empowering communities and building resilience from the ground up.”

“Today’s groundbreaking honors the vision of the late Jimmy Nakatani, whose leadership helped plant the seeds for this project and the larger Food and Product Innovation Network. He understood that even something as simple as tsukemono — Japanese pickled vegetables — could inspire innovation and revitalize rural towns across the state by empowering local farmers and entrepreneurs,” said State Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “From Kona to Kekaha, and Hilo to Hana, the Food and Product Innovation Network can strengthen Hawaii’s local food systems and economy for generations to come.”

“The Food and Product Innovation Network reflects the state’s mission to help farmers and entrepreneurs thrive while diversifying Hawaii’s economy,” said DBEDT Deputy Director Dane Wicker. “Through economic development, we are creating hubs of resiliency that move us closer to food security and a stronger, more self-reliant future. What we’re building in Central Oahu is not simply a facility — it’s a blueprint for how every island can innovate, grow, and feed Hawaii for generations.”

“This project honors ADC’s commitment to the people of Hawaii — our farmers, food makers and small business owners who sustain our communities,” said ADC Executive Director Wendy Gady. “Together, we’re cultivating a future where Hawaii’s food system thrives — guided by community, grounded in culture and built through collaboration.”

Note to media: B-roll, photos and interview clips from the groundbreaking are available for media use here, courtesy Agribusiness Development Corporation. Renderings courtesy ADC and University of Hawaii Community Design Center.

About the Central Oahu Agriculture and Food Hub
The planned facilities will help the state fulfill the goals and requirements set forth in Act 151 (2019), which directs Hawaii to double local food production and exports by 2030; Act 175 (2021), which establishes the Farm to School Program goal of sourcing at least 30 percent of public-school meals from local producers by 2030; Act 176 (2021), which requires state departments to procure 50 percent of their food from local sources by 2050; and Act 237 (2025), which establishes the Food and Product Innovation Network. Together, these Acts form the foundation of Hawaii’s commitment to strengthen food security, expand agricultural production and build the local workforce that will prepare, cook and manage a resilient statewide food system.

About the Agribusiness Development Corporation
The Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC), established by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1994 and administratively attached to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), is responsible for converting former plantation lands and irrigation systems into productive, diversified agricultural use. ADC’s mission is to develop the land, water and facilities necessary to expand Hawaii’s agricultural economy, enhance food security and support future generations of local farmers. For more information, visit dbedt.hawaii.gov/adc.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Laci Goshi
Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism
Cell: 808-518-5480

Scott Ishikawa
Becker Communications
Cell: 808-227-2350