A study conducted by the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) revealed that a high number of Hawaiʻi residents would spend more money on groceries in order to support local farmers.

During the study, which was conducted with approximately 400 residents between April and May 2022, CTAHR researchers found individuals in higher income brackets (earning more than $100,000 per year), people on the neighbor islands, and those of native Hawaiian ancestry showed the greatest willingness to pay a premium to buy local.

But when the focus shifted to those who actually buy local produce and meat at a significantly higher rate, it turns out that lower-income households (earning less than $50,000 per year) do, along with residents born and raised in the islands and Native Hawaiians.

The study also showed the proportion of weekly local purchases declines as family income increases.

The work is part of the Seeds of Wellbeing (SOW) project in CTAHR, currently funded by USDA-NIFA & HDOA through the end of March 2023.

Researchers also discovered that the public has a very favorable perception of farmers, with 86% of consumers saying that farmers are very hard workers, and 83% saying that it’s very important for farmers to continue farming to provide local products to residents.

A previous CTAHR study reported that 85% of farmers said that farming is stressful, full of uncertainties and low-profit margins.  Even the public agrees with this. Only 2% of consumers felt that farmers enjoyed high-profit margins.