Sustainable Initiatives by Andrea Dean

Eating Poi While Driving: Day 11- My Experiments with Food Truth- 60 Days of Eating Locally Grown


Join the Eat Local Challenge (Sept. 25 – Oct. 3) for a meal, a day or a week!


The two hardest things about eating 100% locally grown are:
1) When I am overworked, over committed and in a rush, and;
2) Blogging about it every day, especially when I am… (see #1, above)


They don’t call staple crops “staples” for nothing! Taro was my primary sustenance today. I ran out in the morning to meet David Fuertes (Ka Hana No’eau) and Marc Kinoshita (Hoea Agricultural Park) at the Kohala Seniors Center where we made a presentation to see if the Kohala Seniors wanted to participate in the North Kohala Eat Locally Grown Campaign- indeed, they are on board! I had some taro in the car on the way there. Back at home for a short time, I had to shoot off some quick emails and such before heading to Kona and Waimea. I only had time to grab a banana and some poi from the fridge.


Ever eaten poi while driving? It should be against the law! I had mixed my poi with some Volcano Island Honey to make it sweet and more palatable to my haole, New York trained, pizza and bagel loving taste buds. I placed the bowl of sticky and sweet poi on the passenger seat and periodically dipped my spoon into the bowl. With one eye on the road and one on the poi bowl, I deftly twirled the spoon until I thought drippage was minimized. Then I quickly brought the spoon to my mouth and licked it like a lollipop. By the time I got to Kawaihae I had eaten half the banana and most of the poi, my hunger was assuaged.


But after my Kona meeting I found myself hungry again, very hungry. I contemplated the now crusty and warm poi and the brown and soggy banana, and made a beeline to Island Naturals, knowing that they have a commitment to local and organic food. I was hoping to score something ready made from the hot table and salad bar. Unfortunately, the manager was not available and no one could confirm for me if any of the greens or vegetables were locally sourced. The mahi mahi was clearly labeled as “local,” and after much questioning, the girl behind the counter confirmed that she saw a fisherman bring it in. (Maybe she just wanted to get rid of me!) Since the greens couldn’t be confirmed local, I grabbed some Lone Palm Farm pea sprouts and fresh local figs from the produce section.



After my low blood sugar crisis passed, I went to Borders to grab Jonathan Franzen’s new book Freedom. (For your general information, I also frequently buy and swap books at Kona Bay Books , a used book store which I LOVE.) They were sold out of Freedom, but Michael Pollan’s new book Food Rules- An Eater’s Manual jumped off the shelves at me. Perfect! A quick flip through the book revealed that I had already violated Rule #49- Eat Slowly. I must have been going at least 55.

Of course, I am especially proud because I do a lot of work with Volcano Island Honey! Volcano Island Honey Co. (VIHC) was recognized for its ongoing commitment to social and environmental principles in business as the winner of this year’s Kuleana Award. The Kuleana Award is presented each year at the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Kuleana Green Business & Environment Conference. Read the full story here.

Local beekeeper Richard Spiegel from Volcano Island Honey attended the Hawaii premier of the film The Last Beekeeper.

Do you know that 1/3 of all the food you eat is pollinated by bees? The decimation of bee colonies is a threat to food production in Hawaii. In Hawaii we do not have the disappearance of bees (Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD), but we now have the devastating and aptly named varroa destructor, commonly known as the varroa mite.