By nature, islands are vulnerable places. Factors such as limited land mass, rapid growth of the human population, and the diversity of people living in Hawai’i make it heavily reliant on imports to meet the food demand. Given its geographical isolation, Hawai’i is also prone to magnified impacts of climate change and pandemics such as COVID-19. Increasing local food production through aquaculture and mariculture is one way to address these issues. With 750 miles of coastline, the Hawai’i islands offer pristine seawater and seafood resources making the aquaculture industry very promising in Hawai’i. To date, there have not been any comprehensive studies that assess the economic potential of using local feed to produce food in Hawai’i. Our study aims to assess the economic feasibility of manufacturing feed utilizing an existing feed mill in Hawai’i. We developed a comprehensive economic model using the Oceanic Instituteʻs research feed mill in Hilo, Hawai’i to estimate the cost of producing feed in Hawai’i. We calculated construction cost, fixed cost including annual depreciation, and variable costs. Our preliminary results show that feed ingredients are the second highest cost component in the total production costs. Using two theoretical scenarios, local feed ingredients appear to not have a significant impact in reducing the production cost compared to imported feed. The economic model was presented recently to stakeholders in a hybrid workshop setting. Challenges and opportunities for establishing a feed mill in Hawaii were discussed. This presentation will highlight our findings and the proposed solutions for local feed supply in Hawaii.