As food insecurity rises across the state, groups fighting hunger are highlighting the need for food that is not only nutritious, but culturally relevant.
Leialoha Kaula is the executive director of the nonprofit KALO HCC, which serves Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
The organization started distributing food boxes during the pandemic, and Kaula said the food didn’t always meet people’s needs – because it wasn’t familiar, or they didn’t know how to use it.
In response, she said, KALO started including traditional foods in the boxes, like taro root and coconut.
“We saw that it was not just hunger for food, it was that hunger for culture,” said Kaula. “It was that hunger for home, that’s what was filled.”
Visits to food banks in the state have risen sharply in the last year, and data shows Pacific Islander Oregonians are twice as likely to experience hunger than their white neighbors.
Kaula said KALO HCC has also started cultivating taro, a Native Hawaiian staple, and encouraging people to get involved in the project.
“Even though we’re here in Oregon, that’s still a connection to home,” said Kaula. “It’s about how we as Indigenous people are caring for the land.”
Amid federal cuts to food programs, Kaula said she wants to see Oregon focus more on providing culturally relevant foods, so all communities in the state can thrive.
“To really, truly have a healthy Oregon,” said Kaula, “we have to make sure that we’re serving all the communities in a way that makes them feel seen, heard, and feed them in that way.”