The Food Basket opens online SNAP payments for DA BOX
The Hawaiʻi Island Food Basket is now allowing online SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) payments for its agriculture program, DA BOX.
DA BOX, launched in 2014, aims to make fresh local food affordable and provide Hawaiʻi Island’s small farmers with a stable market. As of 2026, DA BOX purchases from more than 70 local producers and serves over 250 families across the island.
Previously, customers paying by credit card could do so online, while SNAP customers had to pay in person upon pickup. This sometimes led to missed orders if customers forgot their EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card or were not home for a delivery.
DA BOX is crucial for some rural and homebound customers, as it may be their primary access point to fresh produce, with rising gas prices making trips to town costlier.
“This is about more than adding a new way to pay,” said Kristin Frost Albrecht, executive director of the Food Basket. “DA BOX was created to make healthy local food more accessible while creating dependable markets for the people who grow our food. With SNAP and DA BUX available online, families can stretch their food dollars further while those dollars also support Hawaiʻi Island farmers.”
The Food Basket joins other Hawaiʻi food hubs that already accept SNAP online for local produce: Hawaiʻi Farm to Car and Kohala Food Hub on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui Hub on Maui, and Farm Link Hawaiʻi on Oʻahu. The Hawaiʻi Food Hub Hui and Hawaiʻi Good Food Alliance coordinated this statewide effort.
Online SNAP purchasing is authorized through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. Once authorized, businesses work with USDA-selected vendors to establish a secure and private way to pay with SNAP online.
Through DA BOX, the Food Basket also administers DA BUX Double Up Food Bucks statewide, assisting more than 160,000 SNAP beneficiaries in stretching their food dollars while supporting local farmers and food producers.
For more information on DA BOX and DA BUX programs, visit the DA BOX website or call 808-796-3091.
