With more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit work, Amy Miller made the move from Bishop Museum to president and CEO of Hawaiʻi Foodbank in May 2021, after a concerted effort to keep all of the museum’s staff on payroll during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“When I took a step back and saw everything that was happening in our community, the thousands of families who were affected, I knew I wanted to do something with more direct impact on helping people in my day job. So, when this opportunity became available, I was really interested,” Miller recently told Aloha State Daily.
“The business of food banking is extremely complex, and I didn’t know anything about shipping, logistics, inventory and the whole distribution model. Especially because most of the time we’re working with donated products that really needs to move fast, right?” she continued. “Just understanding how it all worked was a steep learning curve, but also really exciting for to learn something new.”
She noted that prior to her onboarding, the organization, which is a member Feeding America, was transitioning internal systems to be “more data driven.” Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative is a key partner with this initiative.
“Right before the pandemic, the foodbank had switched to a sophisticated ERP [or Enterprise Resource Planning] system to manage all our finances, distribution, agency relationships, etc.” Miller said. “We can now track every pound of food from where it’s purchased to when it gets here, is stored and moved, which helps us understand where people are falling between the gaps. That’s been a big push.
“And we’re in a very different space now, so we are leveraging the information to make good decisions for our internal efficiencies and to better serve the people in our community that need assistance.”
In the role, Miller oversees 80 staff members and nearly 8,000 volunteers in addition to the nonprofit’s annual operating budget of about $47.6 million. Photo by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros. (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
Overall, 32% of Hawaiʻi households — approximately 463,000 individuals — were food insecure in 2024-2025, per the latest The State of Food Insecurity Executive Summary report. Pictured is the nonprofitʻs 25,000 square-foot exterior warehouse in Mapunapuna, Oʻahu. It also has a warehouse on Kauaʻi. Photo by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros. (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
Becoming a volunteer, donating monetarily and spreading the word are some of the ways to get involved or give back to the Hawaiʻi Foodbank. Pictured here are volunteers sorting food donations. Sign up to help online. Photos by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros. (Aloha State Daily Staff)
Food insecurity is high across the Islands, with Hawaiʻi Island and Maui experiencing it the most. Overall, 32% of Hawaiʻi households — approximately 463,000 individuals — were food insecure in 2024-2025, per the latest The State of Food Insecurity Executive Summary report. Additionally, 11% of households went a whole day without food at least once during the year.
“Ending hunger is more than meeting a basic need — it is a catalyst for healthier communities and a more equitable Hawaiʻi,” the report reads. “By ensuring consistent access to nutritious food for all our communities, we can improve health outcomes, reduce health care costs and strengthen overall well-being across generations."
Miller added: “Last year, Hawaiʻi Foodbank distributed 22.5 million pounds of food. We are on track to distribute more than 25 million pounds of food this year, and by next year, we expect a 15% increase."
According to her, Hawaiʻi Foodbank, in partnership with 250 agencies, helps stock neighborhood food pantries and provide access to fresh fruits and vegetables via ʻOhana Produce Plus, with a focus from keiki to kūpuna, including low-income families, those with disabilities and/or are experiencing homelessness, and more.
“We’re trying to keep barriers to accessing food as low as possible, no matter what ZIP code you’re in,” Miller said. “Our commitment is to do everything we can to ensure people get enough safe and healthy food. I feel it shouldn’t be a privilege; it should be a right.”
In an effort to bring produce and proteins to underserved communities on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, the organization in summer of 2025 launched two fully refrigerated Mobile Food Pantry trucks funded by state Grants-in-Aid.
The Hawai'i Foodbank also received $5.5 million last October under the state’s Act 310, to offset federal cuts to programs. Miller oversees 80 staff members and nearly 8,000 volunteers in addition to the nonprofit’s annual operating budget of about $47.6 million.
One recent funding opportunity, she notes, was advanced by The Honolulu Charter Commission in late May and will appear on the November ballot for voters to decide on Proposal 119 (The Food Security Fund), which would support the food safety net.
She said it “would carve out 1% out of real property tax to support local food purchase, allowing for investment into local food and agricultural systems.”
“It gives the community a voice,” Miller said. “I feel like our state is stepping into the gap, but I would like to see the counties do that, too.”
Looking ahead to the next five years, Miller said programs for kids remains a priority. Currently, Hawaiʻi Foodbank supports programs such as SUN Meals on sites during summer that provide ready-to-eat meals for keiki, and Kaukau 4 Keiki, which coordinates weekly grocery and meal box pickups for parents per child.
“We’ve tried new things out and continue to build and expand these programs,” she said. “We’re on our last year of our strategic plan that we put together about five years ago, so this is our time to say, ‘OK, what are we doing next? How can we collaborate … to build a system where people don’t need to come to us on a regular basis?’ We have this opportunity in the next year or so to think through the next 5 to 10 years.”
“Our goal is to be a good partner to government, philanthropy, community organizations, corporations, anyone that cares about getting food into community, that we can help be an efficient partner.”
We’re better together, she said, adding that there is always an open invitation to collaborate.
She notes that Hawaiʻi Foodbank has a strong buying power, meaning it gets low-cost healthy produce, for example. “On the average, we can stretch the dollar about five times as far, compared to what any of us could spend at the grocery store because we’re buying a container load, right?
Becoming a volunteer, donating monetarily and spreading the word are some of the ways to get involved or give back to the Hawaiʻi Foodbank. For more details, click here.
Miller says even though the work is hard, it is meaningful.
“We get notes from kids. I shared a letter in my testimony at the Charter Commission from a mom who thanked us for helping get families access to local food. … Her middle son had finally gained weight. I’ve never forgotten it.
“I can’t tell you how many families I’ve talked to and the kid’s expressed gratitude, ‘We got to put milk on our cereal.’ So many of us take these things for granted. But it’s happening right here, and we’re lucky we get to do something about it.”
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
