Category Archives: Eating Locally

Eating Locally, Sustainability

Edible Hawaiian Islands

There’s a new magazine out there—Edible Hawaiian Islands. Have you seen it?

Here’s a description:

“Filled with engaging stories, enticing photography and art, our mission is to celebrate family farmers, bakers, fisherman, ranchers, poultry farmers, local chefs and the rest of the community for their dedication to producing the highest quality fresh and seasonal foods. We want to highlight those efforts towards a more sustainable and safe food system in The Hawaiian Islands.“

Sound familiar? The magazine has already featured Hamakua Springs, and writes about many others who practice the same sorts of things we preach.

Check it out. And if you’re interested, subscription information is here.

Eating Locally, Food Security, Music, New York City, Sustainability

Farm Aid

Last night’s Farm Aid concert took place in New York City.

Remember Farm Aid? The first annual Farm Aid concert, organized by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, was in 1985. Since then, the musician Dave Matthews has also joined the board. The nonprofit organization (mission: to keep family farmers on their land) has raised more than $30 million to “promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.”

I enjoyed this New York Times article for quotes like this one, from Willie Nelson.

For Mr. Nelson, Farm Aid’s ideals are a reminder of his childhood in Abbott, Tex. “We had organic food and didn’t know it for a long time,” he said. “It tasted great, and we only know that we grew it out in the back garden, and we had a lot of great potatoes and tomatoes and all our own vegetables. Then I left home to go on the road and I couldn’t find that food any more.”

The article goes on to say that there will be no “factory-farmed junk food” sold at the concert. All food offered at the 25,000-capacity venue will be from family farms.

“People have to take over their own food supply,” Mr. Nelson said. “They have to make sure whatever they eat is healthy and do whatever it takes to do that: shopping locally, farming locally, consuming locally.”

And I liked reading this, too, which is something we talk about here a lot:

Why New York? The city brings renewed news media attention to the long-running event, of course. Farm Aid was also invited here, said its executive director, Carolyn Mugar, by an assortment of environmentalists, politicians (including the mayor’s office) and chefs. Over the years Farm Aid has become part of what’s known as the Good Food Movement, alongside organizations working from various angles to roll back industrial farming and promote organic and sustainable food production — and consumption. While the city itself may not be farm country, it’s full of people who eat.

“Farmers are never going to survive if they don’t have as allies the people who want this good food,” Ms. Mugar said. “New York has a huge density of eaters and a density of people who are doing excellent things. There are restaurants, farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture programs, even people who are growing food in the city and teaching people how to grow it.”

The Farm Aid website talks about how to find Good Food, as the organization defines it. Worth checking out.

Company News, Eating Locally, Food Security, Sustainability, Water

The Law of Survival

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As I’ve written before, I am increasingly worried about the fact that more than 70 percent of our food here in Hawai‘i is imported.

Recently, in the Hawai‘i Tribune-Herald, someone wrote that the Law of Comparative Advantage dictates that whenever we can purchase goods cheaper outside of Hawai‘i, we should. I majored in business, so I am aware of this law.

But first and foremost I am a survivor, and the Law of Survival is to “Always keep your options open.” And in order to keep our options open, we need to produce MORE food locally, not less.

The Law of Comparative Advantage is an intellectual exercise. The Law of Survival is, well, “the law of survival.”

And so this is our Law of Survival plan:

Hamakua Springs Country Farms is in the process of developing a hydroelectric plant. We will utilize water from a flume on our property, and then use that free electricity to replace that of the public utility. With our excess electricity, we plan to replace diesel- and gas motor-driven machinery with electric-driven vehicles. We also plan to use electric, motor-driven conveyors and other such labor-saving devices.

Then—by offering cheap electricity and cheap water, which we also have in absolute abundance—we are working on teaming up with farmers who specialize in products we do not.

We can offer technical expertise, in terms of disease and pest control, as well as technical and structural help in obtaining food safety certifications. And if these farmers meet our high standards, they can market their products with us under the Hamakua Springs brand.

In addition, we have a parcel of land on the highway where our farmer-partners will be able to sell their products in a farmers’ market-type setting.

We are actively working on these aspects of our “Law of Survival” in order to make our islands more sustainable in terms of food production.

In the State of Hawai‘i, what we need is for farmers to produce food on all islands at all elevations, both on the wet side of the island and the dry side. We need farmers to work together so that the whole is stronger than the sum of the parts.

We need to overcome the inertia of “it’s always been done this way.” And we need legislators to help us so we can act upon the Law of Survival, rather than intellectualize about the Law of Comparative Advantage.

Community, Eating Locally

Waimea Foodland’s Island Market

This past Saturday June and I participated in an “Island Market” at Foodland Waimea. This is the third such event Foodland has sponsored recently. It’s the same as a farmers market in that the farmers that supply Foodland have their produce on display. Even though the regularly scheduled farmers market was right down the street, based on the volume of produce sold Foodland’s Island Market did very well.

There was a steady flow of customers from 8 a.m. until noon. We sold out most of what we brought and had to ask Jose, the produce manager, if we could get more product from the store’s stock.

The Dragonfruit lady attracted lots of attention. Dragonfruit is attractive to look at and delicious to eat.

We were at the next two tables. We had bananas, cucumbers, green onions, lettuce, cocktail, Hamakua sweets, and heirloom tomatoes on display. That’s Kelvin Shigemura, an executive at Armstrong Produce, lending a hand at our booth. June was further down, helping the chef putting out his tasty samples.

This next photo is of June preparing samples of Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes. People were eager to try these ugly, non-uniform, colorful and very tasty tomatoes, and asked a lot of questions. Some really liked the fact that the heirloom tomatoes are not uniform in appearance. We told them that heirloom tomatoes were developed more than 50 years ago, when people were more interested in good taste than in ease of shipping.

Chef Keoni, preparing pupu for the line of customers in front. Tiffany Tom, Foodland’s Produce Buyer, was making sure the farmers were supplied with food and drink. Again, Foodland made sure the farmers were well cared for.

Chef Kent made an heirloom sandwich. It was made up of heirloom tomato slices in place of bread, with grilled eggplant, basil, thick balsamic vinegar ($40 a bottle), olive oil, Hawaiian salt and white pepper. It was really good.

I would love to see the photos of the farmers, which were outside during the Island Market event, displayed inside the different Foodland stores. This would go a long way in showing customers how much of Foodland’s produce is supplied by local farmers.

Community, Current Affairs, Eating Locally, Government

Volatile Situation

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At a recent planning commission meeting, I testified in favor of Councilman Stacy Higa’s initiative to ban superstores on the Big Island. Let me tell you why.

On any given day, 70 percent of Hawai‘i’s food is imported. And it is estimated that we have only seven to 10 days of food in the pipeline. We live on islands in the middle of the Pacific and it’s clear to me that we need to produce MORE foods locally, not less.

I have no objection to importing 100 percent of our computers, TV sets, stoves and cars. We cannot make these items here in Hawai‘i. And even if shipping was interrupted, we could adapt or make do without them.

But it is quite a different story with food. If shipping is interrupted for any length of time, and our food supply is cut off and people become desperate, we could have a very volatile and dangerous situation.

We depend on food for our very lives. Therefore, we must try to become as self-sufficient in food production as we can. We must grow as much of the food that we can here in Hawaii.

Superstores are not committed to supporting local agriculture production.They are geared to providing cheap food. Small farmers cannot meet the high-tech, steady supply requirements necessary to supply superstores with cheap food.

If the cost of that “cheap food” is that small, local farmers are forced out of business and Hawai‘i has to import even more than 70 percent of the food it consumes, that cost is way too high!

In contrast, some of our local supermarkets have consistently supported local farmers for many, many years. KTA Supermarkets has its Mountain Apple brand, which identifies items grown or produced locally. We farmers all know how committed KTA is to its local farmer program. It is what the company does, not just what it says, that resonates.

Foodland Supermarkets is also committed to supporting local farmers. Foodland has recently kicked off its Island Market program to showcase locally grown products.

When supercenters establish themselves in Hawai‘i, though, these local supermarkets cannot grow. And if they cannot grow, local small farmers cannot grow. Ultimately, the result is that we grow even less of the food we eat here, and are forced to depend even more on imports.

Clearly, this cannot go on indefinitely. For me, the time to stand up was at that recent planning commission meeting.

Community, Eating Locally, Tomatoes

More on the ‘Island-Grown Market’

I want to tell you, and show you, a little more about that food event at the Pukalani Foodland last week because I think it’s so significant that Foodland is demonstrating its strong commitment to locally grown produce.

People are increasingly concerned that we live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and that we depend on 70 percent of our food being imported. It’s eye-opening to learn that there is only a week to 10 days’ worth of food in the pipeline. Interrupt that shipping and we run out.

This is why I’m so impressed with Foodland’s commitment to supporting local farmers.

And it isn’t only us here at Hamakua Springs that benefit from their support. At this Pukalani event, there were growers and producers from all over Hawai‘i. All of us are doing the same thing—producing, locally, the food people here eat. Fresh, Island-grown, delicious food.

And not only produce. Armstrong Produce & Kula Produce employees are an important part of the team that makes all this happen.

 

It is delicious to break out of old food habits and plan meals based on the fresh ingredients available around you. Eating more vegetables, putting together quick, simple dishes with fresh ingredients, enjoying a sweet, sweet summer watermelon—it doesn’t get any better than that.

I am so impressed when I see the turnout at these Foodland events, a farmer’s market that they hold outside their stores. Now the key is to get all those people to wheel their carts back in the store and realize this is not an isolated opportunity. These products are for sale inside Foodland, too, and on a regular basis! Read signs and labels when you buy your groceries, and support your local farmers so we can continue to bring you this delicious, Island-fresh food.

Community, Eating Locally, Sustainability, Tomatoes

Upcountry

I am exercising and it’s going okay, but I’m not losing much weight right now. My resting heart rate is at 60 beats per minute, so that is going in the right direction. But regarding weight, I’ve hit some sort of plateau. I’ll let you know when I figure out a way out of it.

June and I just attended the second event of the Foodland Island Grown Market series. This time it was held at the Pukalani Foodland, part way up the slopes of Haleakala on Maui.

There were farmers there with lettuce and herbs, broccoli and cabbage, flowers from Maui and watermelon from O‘ahu. From the Big Island, there were Hamakua mushrooms and fresh fish and also us, with our tomatoes, bananas and living lettuce.

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Chef Keoni Chang with the owners of Waipouli Hydroponics.

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Fresh fish from Hilo

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The parakeet lady with some of our heirloom tomatoes

The people who came were very vocal about their support of local produce. They were knowledgeable and passionate about food security. They made a point of telling us how much they appreciate fresh produce grown in Hawaii.

And they came to buy. They bought every heirloom tomato we had, even those in the display. The tomatoes-on-the-vine went first. People bought all our cocktail tomatoes, as well as all the beef tomatoes in the clamshells.

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Chef Kent explaining how he used our cocktail tomatoes in his watercress/tomato dish, “and you have to try the Striped German heirlooms.”

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Armstrong Produce’s Tish Uehara, to Chef Keoni: “So that’s the trick? Ponzu sauce and togarashi?”

It was great to hear people say that they support local farmers. This was not just making polite conversation; they meant it. Sustainability and food security are big in Pukalani. All the farmers really enjoyed this event.

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Mark Teruya, President of Armstrong Produce, making sure everyone has a Foodland tote bag.

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Tiffany Tom, a buyer for Foodland Produce, finally taking a break because everything is going great

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Chef Keoni discussing the finer points of selecting a watermelon

And speaking of watermelon…

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Before they started, the little girl told the M.C.: “I’m going for the win!” She had such a great attitude it didn’t even matter who won!

Company News, Eating Locally, Tomatoes

At the Expo

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June and I just attended the Hawaii Lodging, Hospitality & Foodservice Expo, which was held Wednesday and Thursday at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. It’s the largest trade event in the state.We were guests in the Armstrong Produce booth. Armstrong Produce is the largest produce distributor in Hawai‘i, and has its corporate headquarters on O‘ahu. Its Kula Produce operates on Maui, and on the Big Island it is known as Armstrong Produce Kona. They carry every conceivable variety of fruit and vegetable. They are also strong supporters of local producers.

 

Armstrong Produce passed out samples of numerous fruits, including Bing and Rainier cherries, golden kiwi, melons, Saturn peaches, white nectarines and others.

We anchored one end of their booth with our tomatoes. People were fascinated and eager to taste our unusual-looking tomatoes. We told them that we grow our heirloom tomatoes from varieties that are at least 50 years old, back when tomatoes were bred for taste rather than how pretty they looked and how far they could be shipped.

 

We told them the darker-colored tomatoes are called Purple Cherokee, the yellow with starbursts of red are Striped Germans and the little green ones are called Green Zebras. Our tiny Hamakua Sweets were a huge hit, and people dragged their friends back to taste them. We were not surprised, because we have seen this reaction time and again. The Hamakua Sweets are our favorites, as well.

We were guests of Armstrong Produce two years ago, too. Back then we noticed, and were surprised, when people told us they supported and were interested in buying locally grown produce. This time we noticed people were even more passionate about their support for locally grown food.

Underlying this sentiment are probably three recent happenings:

1. China’s food safety problems

2. Last year’s spinach safety problems, and

3. Wal-Mart’s industrialization of organic food. (Since large corporations started supplying Wal-Mart with organic produce from far away, people are wondering about the carbon cost of sourcing fertilizers from distant corners of the globe to grow organic crops, and then shipping that crop across the country to a Wal-Mart. This is causing the demise of the small family organic farm, the very ones that started the organic movement in the first place, and people don’t like this!)

People are really supporting locally grown food now. The sentiment to “buy local” is quite a bit stronger than it was two years ago. And the chefs are leading the way. It’s quite impressive and we are moving to be in step with this trend.

At the Expo, there were booths of all kinds—from food to laundry to patio umbrellas, to designer kitchen uniforms, to custom coffee machines that could compete with Starbucks in taste and variety. I was very impressed with the quality they can maintain.

Toward the end of the day, lots of people crowded around the wine and beer booths. There were even massage chairs that treated people with sore legs and backs from working or just walking around.

June and I enjoyed this event. It reinforced our belief that local consumers care about food safety and food security. We were pleasantly surprised to find that consumers are even more concerned than we expected. It gives us encouragement to press ahead in terms of food safety and food security issues.

Eating Locally

Origins

A New York Times editorial talks about lobbying efforts that have shot down legislation that would require some food labeling—labeling that would tell us where our food was raised or grown.

“With imports of agricultural products rising sharply and sporadic scares about their safety,” says the article, “Americans surely have a right to know what country their food has come from. Unfortunately, they have little chance of finding out, due to the intransigence of meat importers and grocery retailers.”

Consumers have a right to know where their food comes from, the editorial posits. We agree.

As our post on Andrea Dean showed (she ate only Big Island food products for an extended period, and had no trouble finding enough to eat), there is a lot of great food produced right here on the Big island.

Eating locally just makes more and more sense.

Bananas, Community, Eating Locally

Bananas & Dignity

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There was a farmers market event this past Saturday at Foodland Supermarket in Ewa Beach. The weather was great and nearly 20 farmers participated, bringing their asparagus, bananas, tomatoes, lettuce, watercress, sweet potatoes, mangoes, papayas, watermelon, corn, cucumbers, beans and lots more. Foodland Supermarket set up cash registers outside and people could purchase things right on the spot.

June and I were there in all our dignity.

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The next photo is of the group in our tent. That’s our friends Clyde Fukuyama, Kylie Matsuda and Momi Matsuda of Kahuku Farms. June is third from the left.

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Chef Kent with David Sumida from Sumida Watercress. Chef Kent showed us why aged balsamic vinegar is so special. He drizzled some aged balsamic vinegar and sprinkled a little pinch of Hawaiian salt on one of our Cherokee Purple heirloom tomatoes. It was great. Now we need to go get a bottle of aged thick balsamic vinegar.

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There was even a watermelon-eating contest.

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KCCN did a live show. Here’s the DJ from KCCN interviewing Kylie Matsuda.

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James Law and Tisha Uyehara, both executives from Armstrong Produce, jumped right in. That’s James handing a Hamakua Springs tomato to a customer.

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Chef Keoni Chang, Corporate Chef at Foodland Supermarkets, had three action stations going where people could taste samples prepared by his staff. The chefs had a great time preparing small taste samples on the fly out of everything they could get their hands on. This is me with Chef Keoni.

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This is June, John Schilf, who is Director of Purchasing for Foodland Supermarkets, and me.

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Jenai Walls, President of Foodland Supermarkets, came by and bought some of our tomatoes.

Mark Teruya, President of Armstrong Produce, personally saw to it that the farmers had all the support they needed. They even brought us Starbucks coffee to get us started in the morning. They did a great job.

We got to see our farmer friends. And we had a chance to talk story with the customers, who seemed to enjoy talking with the people who actually grow the crops. This was great fun.

Foodland will be having several of these around the state. Next weekend we head to one at the Foodland Supermarket in Pukalani on Maui.