Emilia Knudsen is one of about a dozen “food heroes” throughout the state who are nourishing their communities during the pandemic.

They are profiled in a series of interviews called “Feeding Hawai’i: Portraits of Resilience,” offering insight about the challenges posed by COVID-19 and how they’ve arrived at solutions.

The series is presented by the Hawai‘i Center for Food Safety, which has worked to educate the public about the risks of industrial agriculture since 2004.

Other food heroes include:

>> Kyle Kawakami, whostarted the Maui Fresh Streatery food truck to present gourmet food prepared with local produce. But since the pandemic hit, Kawakami has transformed his truck into a kind of community hub, where fishermen and farmers can sell their products, and where Kawakami provides hundreds of free meals to kupuna and keiki each week.

>> Nicole Huguenin has been delivering healthy food and more to Maui’s homeless community, while identifying the blind spots in government programs meant to serve this population.

>> Harmonee Williams is the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Sust‘ainable Molokai, known for its online mobile market that accepts federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards. It also provides training for farmers and distributes food that includes the island’s grass-fed beef, shrimp, kalo and fish.

Visit feedinghawaii.org to read more of the portraits.