Honolulu Could Become The First US City Where Food Is A Human Right

November 27, 2025

By Thomas Heaton / Civil Beat

Workers stock up on produce on Kekaulike Mall in Chinatown. (Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2018)

Among dozens of proposed amendments that the Charter Commission will consider putting on the ballot next fall is one underscoring a basic need: to eat.

As many of us sit down to a Thanksgiving feast, some Oʻahu residents are pondering this question: Is food a human right? 

It’s a question advocates hope will move from dining room tables to the ballot this time next year based on a proposal among the 276 that have been submitted to the Honolulu Charter Commission — 10% of which touch on agriculture and food access.

If voters were to ultimately answer yes, Honolulu would be the first city in the nation to do so, following the lead of Maine. Advocates view it as an important step toward fixing a long list of problems in the island’s food system that contribute to household food insecurity.