Taste of Hilo fundraiser delivers record $20,000 for Hawaii CC students

A record $20,000 from Taste of Hilo is headed to Hawaii Community College students, turning a Hilo food festival into direct aid for scholarships and program development. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii said the gift was its largest annual contribution to the college through the fundraiser and added to a partnership that has now topped $200,000 over more than 25 years.

For Hawaii CC, the money is not just ceremonial support. The college says the annual fundraiser helps lower financial barriers for students while also backing programs that connect training to island jobs, especially in fields such as liberal arts and sciences, agriculture, information technology, early childhood education, nursing, carpentry and diesel mechanics. Last year alone, scholarship funding through the initiative helped more than 25 students, and a separate Hawaii Community College report from December 2024 said 20 students received scholarships through the effort that year.

The event has also become part of the college’s workforce pipeline. Hawaii CC says Taste of Hilo gives culinary students hands-on experience by staffing food stations and building relationships with industry professionals and future employers, a practical benefit in a county where hospitality and food service remain visible parts of the local economy. That blend of fundraising and job training has helped make the event a fixture in East Hawaii civic life for 27 years.

The 2025 Taste of Hilo drew more than 400 attendees at Sangha Hall and opened with the Fuji Experience, a one-hour culinary showcase led by Chef Keoni Regidor of Napua and Lehua Restaurant. The program underscored how the fundraiser has grown beyond a tasting event into a stage for Hawaii Island’s chefs, restaurants, beverage producers and students.

Susan Kazama, Hawaii CC’s chancellor, has said the support helps students feel their community believes in them. On an island shaped in part by Japanese immigration that began in 1868, including families who settled on plantations along the Hāmākua Coast, the fundraiser also reflects how long-standing community institutions continue to shape the island’s educational and economic future.