March 18, 2026, 9:30 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 325 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems
Rep. Cory Chun, Chair
Rep. Matthias Kusch, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
Re: SB1230 SD2 — RELATING TO MEAT DONATION
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and other Committee Members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports SB1230 SD2, which would exempt wild game meat donated to charitable organizations from state meat inspection and transportation rules.
This measure would go a long way toward improving Hawaii’s food security and reducing the ecological and economic damage done by invasive species such as Axis deer, goats and wild pigs.
To sell or distribute meat products, a rancher or hunter must typically have the animal processed in a facility inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or an equivalent state agency. Hawaii does not have a state meat inspection agency and has limited processing capacity. Further, Axis deer do not qualify for free USDA inspections because they are considered a “non-amenable species.”
All of this makes it challenging to process invasives for human consumption. An exemption for donated meat is a commonsense response to this challenge, which many states have already adopted.[1]
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Footnotes
- “Game Meat Donation Programs,” Congressional Sportsmen Foundation, accessed March 11, 2026.
