$143,805 Donated to Culinary, Agricultural, and Community Organizations from 2024 Hawaii Food & Wine Festival® Proceeds
HONOLULU, HI (August 11, 2025)—The Hawaii Ag & Culinary Alliance (HACA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2011, has announced it awarded $143,805 in proceeds from its signature program, the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival® (HFWF), to support culinary, agricultural, and community organizations across the state. This year’s giving brings HACA’s total community investment to over $5 million since its inception.
Dedicated to forging vibrant links between world-class culinary events and the advancement of culinary education—from community colleges to four-year universities—HACA’s mission is to elevate Hawaii’s culinary and agricultural sectors, enriching both the visitor industry and the local community. Its signature program, the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, is recognized as the premier culinary destination event of the Pacific—spotlighting Hawaii as a world-class culinary destination, showcasing the islands’ extraordinary talent and locally grown products, and giving back to the community. Through this, the Festival is expanding opportunities for students and strengthening educational pathways across the state to support Hawaii’s culinary and agricultural industries in new and exciting ways.
Each year, proceeds from the Festival support culinary education, agriculture, and sustainability initiatives, as well as to provide relief for restaurant and hospitality workers during times of need. Since 2011, the Festival has raised over $5 million for these causes. In doing so, HFWF has become a platform for collaboration, a driver for workforce development, and a lifeline for industry recovery when it mattered most.
In 2024, HFWF funding supported the University of Hawaii Community Colleges Culinary Programs at six campuses across the state, as well as Imua Family Services, the Maui County Farm Bureau, and the Hawaii Agricultural Foundation. In addition, two national nonprofit organizations—the James Beard Foundation and DC Central Kitchen—were selected for their transformative work in advancing culinary education, equity, and innovation in food systems and social justice.
HACA is proud to support a range of workforce development programs designed to foster growth and opportunity within Hawaii’s culinary and hospitality industries. These include:
- Cottage Industry to Commercial Enterprise Scholarship, which supports Hawaii-based value-added food entrepreneurs to scale operations in partnership with Leeward Community College and the Wahiawa Value-Added Product Development Center’s Aina to Makeke program.
- CIP x CIA Workforce Development Scholarship Fund, which aims to elevate the skills of Hawaii’s culinary professionals by offering scholarships for students participating in workforce development intensives at the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America.
- Kokua Restaurant & Hospitality Fund, a vital resource providing grants to Hawaii’s restaurant and hospitality workers, aiding those in need due to unforeseen challenges and ensuring the continued strength of the local culinary community.
As the largest food and wine festival in the state, HFWF brings together more than 200 internationally renowned chefs, culinary personalities, master sommeliers, wine professionals, mixologists, and visionary speakers. New in 2025, the Festival introduces the inaugural FEAST Summit—a dynamic forum exploring the intersections of Food, Education, Agriculture, Sustainability, and Tourism. The one-day conference is designed to advance conversations around food system resilience, workforce development, and the interconnected future of Hawaii’s culinary, agricultural, and visitor industries. Bringing together chefs, educators, students, policymakers, and industry leaders, the Summit serves as a natural extension of HACA’s commitment to strengthening educational pathways and fostering collaboration that drives lasting impact across Hawaii’s economy and community.
Tickets for the Fifteenth Annual Hawaii Food & Wine Festival are on sale now for 10 events spanning three weekends across the Island of Hawaii; Kaanapali, Maui; and Oahu from October 17-November 2, 2025. Additional events to be announced in the coming weeks. Visit hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com to purchase tickets, view event details and chef lineup.
For Press & Media inquiries, please contact:
Kristen Lau-Grover, Sr. Director of Marketing & PR | [email protected] or 808-721-1849
ABOUT HAWAII AG & CULINARY ALLIANCE
The Hawaii Ag & Culinary Alliance (HACA) is dedicated to forging a vibrant link between our world-class culinary events and the advancement of culinary education, from community colleges to four-year universities. Founded in 2011 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, HACA’s mission is to elevate Hawaii’s culinary and agricultural sectors, enriching both the visitor industry and local community. As the parent organization of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival® (HFWF)—the premier epicurean destination event of the Pacific, HACA has donated $5 million to local community and aina-based organizations that support food sustainability, culinary education and agriculture. For more information, visit www.HFWF.me, follow HFWF on Instagram @HIFoodWineFest and Facebook at @HawaiiFoodandWineFestival.