Sustainable Initiatives by Andrea Dean » north kohala food forum

I Am an Eco.Local Cover Girl!

admin — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:49:04 +0000

TheEco.local.oct2010

My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:27:31 +0000

Aloha! If you have been following my 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown blog and have been clicking through from Facebook, you have been being sent to KanuHawaii.org, which is OK, but there are more videos and pics at andreadean.com/blog. I had my settings crossed!

Costco and Crabs: Day 3 of 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:48:04 +0000

Costco and Crabs: Day 3- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

Yesterday I bought the “local” local food and today I ate it- my first experience with the local crabs (live on video, below!). Today I took a trip to Costco to pick up some pictures and took the opportunity to check out the local food scene.

Costco, the place where many people (more confessions, myself included) buy a lot of their food, has quite a bit of locally grown vegetables and some fruit.

I did not see any organic local fruits and veggies at Costco and most of the produce was from Oahu, with a few exceptions- the Papayas from Hilo (GMO papaya? I am not sure), purple sweet potatoes from Molokai, Hamakua Springs tomatoes and Hamakua Mushrooms. I am guessing that in order to supply Costco a farm would have be pretty well industrialized and is probably not practicing sustainable and regenerative farming techniques. (I would love to be proven wrong- send examples if you have any!) I think we would all agree that our preferred future would not include adding chemicals to the soil or spraying our vegetables. It would also be ideal, in my humble opinion, if our food was produced on smaller homesteads or diversified family farms- and if this food was more easily accessible. Farmers markets are hot these days, to be sure, but most people still buy their food at the food store or at Costco. Do we need more co-ops? Do buyers need to be more flexible? Do we need more direct farmer-to-consumer distribution systems? Knowing we are currently importing 90% of our food- do we need large scale local farms to tip the import balance? I love the idea that we all produce food and trade…but it is more of an ideal than a reality for me. I am more of a shopper than a grower, more likely to help organize food systems than supply the food. If I had to survive on what I grow in my yard today I would starve. (I did cook up some of my container garden grown kale in my kale, Hamakua mushroom, Puna goat cheese, green onion, Mountain Apple Brand Egg omelet this morning!)

So go ahead blog readers, give it to me...are you pro buying local food in Costco or anti buying local food in Costco? When expressing your opinion, I would like to know how large a family you are feeding and how that effects your purchasing behavior.

Now to the crabs…

By the way- what I ate today:
squid luau
crabs
opihi
cucumber with goat cheese
carrot-ginger soup
omelet with goat cheese, hamakua mushrooms and green onions
mango
banana

Learning About “Local” Local Food: Day Two- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown

admin — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:05:07 +0000

Today was one of those embarrassing haole days. After dance class (Nia) I stopped by the Hawi farmers market to do some connecting with people about the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign and to try to score some food, of course. What I got was local food, and an education in “local” local food, as in Hawaiian foods. I have always steered clear of “local” local food because I don’t eat pork, prefer brown rice and can not abide the calories in even one scoop of macaroni salad. However, I love real local Hawaiian food. A booth at the corner caught my eye…squid luau, opihi, limu and crab. Score! I ordered all of the above, but realized that I didn’t know what to do with the limu, opihi or the crab. I have had opihi and limu at luaus before, but they were prepared for me. I have never eaten the Hawaiian crab. Totally embarrassing! How could I have been living here for 20 years and not know how to prepare those foods. And worse yet, I don’t know how to harvest those foods. No wonder why locals give me the sideways eye when I talk about eating locally. I know nothing about eating “local” locally! Someone teach me please!

When I got home from the market, I delved into making my local lunch.

Video Clips- North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Day

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:59:22 +0000

Well… if you couldn’t be there (or even if you were) check out the highlights from our local restaurants, markets and night spots!

Craig Elevitch’s Local Pics of North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Day

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:03:50 +0000

North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Day was on Sat, Jan 16, 2010. An initiative that came out of the North Kohala Food Forum (www.nkfoodforum.com), restaurant owners Joan Channon (Bamboo), Karen Rosen (Kohala Coffee Mill), Peter Pomeranze (Sushi Rock) and farmer Tom Baldwin (Uluwehi Farms) wanted to feature local, North Kohala grown food in our local restaurants to raise community awareness about our locally grown foods and to create new connections with local farmers. Well- we did it! Hawi and Kapa’au town were abuzz with local foods this past Saturday. The initial idea grew to include other local restaurants and markets- Bamboo, Sushi Rock, Kohala Coffee Mill, Luke’s Place, Kava Kafe, Pico’s, Fig’s Mixed Plate, Snack Shack, Hawi Farmers Market, Takata’s- all who rocked the local food, drinks, and music! North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Day started early at the Kohala Cofee Mill and the Hawi Farmers’ Market and ended late with local kava and local music at the Kava Cafe and Studio 54 at Sushi Rock! We ate, we danced, we raised awareness about local food and farmers!

Karen Rosen, owner of the Kohala Coffee Mill talking up the local specials- local roast beef sandwich, carrot ginger soup, asian wrap, local fruit smoothie and more!

Sushi Rock rolled up sushi rolls with local ingredients. Then they rocked Hawi at night with the Studio 54 dance party.

Visitors from California always eat at Bamboo when they come to the Big Island because they love the local flavors! When people come to Hawaii they want to experience the local flavors! Look out for the next wave- Hawi Regional Cuisine.

Takata's Store expanded the locally grown section and highlighted the local produce with signage.

Kukuipahu Ranch donated local citrus to Takata's Store- proceeds go to the North Kohala Community Learning Center. A great partnership!

Pico's was one of the restaurants who particpated in Eat Locally Grown Day. Taro chips, taro leaf spanikopita, sweet potatoe salad, and more...

Oliver & Tom Baldwin enjoying a locally grown lunch at Pico's. Tom helped coordinate the farmer's/buyer's market where restaurants ordered produce for Eat Locally Grown Day.

Local specials were highlighted at each restaurant.

In case you missed the signs coming into town!

North Kohala Food Forum Video Launched!

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:00:23 +0000

Is your community interested in local food self-reliance? The North Kohala community came together on August 22nd at the North Kohala Food Forum to discuss how we can supply more of our food from local sources. Check out the North Kohala Food Forum video on You Tube:

Growing the Local Economy with Locally Grown Foods- North Kohala Food Forum

admin — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:58:41 +0000

“The North Kohala community will produce 50% of the food it consumes” is one of the goals the community set forth in the North Kohala Community Development Plan. It is hard to know exactly how much of the food North Kohala residents consume is locally produced, but 10-15% is probably a good estimate.

The “local food” movement has been gaining traction all over the world and in Hawaii. Data is now bearing out the fact that eating locally grown foods are good for your health, the community and the economy.

A recent study by the University of Hawaii- College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH-CTAHR) entitled Economic Impacts of Increasing Hawaii’s Food Self Sufficiency concluded that if Hawaii replaced just 10% of the imported food it consumes with locally produced food, this would generate $188 million in sales, $47 million in earnings, $6 million in tax revenues and more than 2,300 jobs. Without an economic study, it would be hard to know what the economic impact of purchasing more locally grown foods would be, but we know for sure that there is an economic “multiplier effect”- when money for food is spent in the community it multiplies in the community.

There is a lot of interest in North Kohala in food self-reliance and there are many new agricultural projects springing up. The Food Forum seeks to bring together all of the parties interested in community food self-reliance in North Kohala. The North Kohala Food Forum has invited 70 panelists- commercial food producers, food markets, wholesalers and commercial buyers, as well as people representing infrastructure (water, land, energy, processing facilities), government and education- to talk about what the challenges and opportunities are for meeting our community goal of producing 50% of our own food. The North Kohala Food Forum does not have a plan for achieving this goal- rather the idea is to bring people together to share information and see where collaboration can happen.

The North Kohala Food Forum will be held on Saturday, August 22, 2009, from 9 am – 4:30 pm at the Kohala Intergenerational Center (behind the gym at Kamehameha Park in Kapa‛au.)

The public is invited to the North Kohala Food Forum and tickets are $10, which includes a delicious all local (North Kohala) grown lunch prepared by local chefs. Tickets are available at the Kohala Coffee Mill, North Kohala Community Resource Center, Nanbu Courtyard Café, and The Kohala Center in Waimea.

The Food Forum is a project of the North Kohala Community Resource Center and is partially funded by the County of Hawaii- Office of Research & Development, Ulupono Initiative, Hoea Agricultural Park, Steering Committee Members, Starseed Ranch, Susan Barnes, and community donations.

You can learn more about the North Kohala Food Forum, share information and participate in the online discussion at www.nkfoodforum.com.