Food Surveys

Fruits  .  Vegetables  .  Greens and Herbs  .  Coffee, Tea, and Spices

500,000 plates a day on the Island of Hawaii!

Hawaii Island is the largest agricultural producer in the State of Hawaii and we have the land and water to produce even more of our own island’s food resources. Improving our food self sufficiency is a good business strategy and a valuable part of improving many facets of our island’s economic development opportunities.

One Island is conducting a USDA-funded farm to market study that is gathering information about current food buying patterns and opportunities that may exist to increase the share of local food served on the 500,000 plates a day at Hawaii Island tables.

1.   Best Eats: Click here to participate in the easy 12 question food consumers survey –  Vote with Your Fork!

2.   Food Buyers: Chefs and Restaurants, Grocers, Food Distributors, Cafeterias, Food Trucks, Bakeries, Value Added Producers

We are inviting commercial Food Buyers to help us gather information about:

• What foods are currently imported and in what quantities
• What foods are currently purchased from local growers or value added producers
• What foods would be purchased from local versus import sources if it was reliably available and of consistent quality.

This information will be gathered and shared in reports that will help the Hawaii Food System develop food independence strategies. Help your community improve its food self sufficiency!

Fruits   .   Vegetables .   Greens and Herbs   .   Coffee, Tea, and Spices

Why this Project is Important and Worthy of a Food Buyer’s time

Farmers need to hear what buyers currently buy and would like to buy from local sources in the future. With this information, farmers can develop cooperative plans to jointly grow increased quantities to meet the demands that exist right now, today. Established farmers are already on board with increasing local food production. But who will be farming in the future? New, young farmers will be encouraged to form the next generation of growers IF we can clarify the levels of existing, un-met demand for local food production. Working together, we can then meet those demands and improve the health, well being, and economy of our island communities.

Food Buyers benefit by communicating their needs through an independent non-profit research project funded by the USDA in order to open new markets for local farm products. As more local food becomes available, the fresh flavor and higher nutrition of non-import foods will improve the quality and reputation of Hawaii food services. Help us strengthen the local agriculture and culinary communities access to resources – and empower a new crop of young farmers to become the future leaders of our food supply.

With over 15 million plates of food needed every month on our island, there are many opportunities for the agricultural sector to step up and meet a larger potion of the need for fresh, delicious and nutritious local food products.

How to Participate as a Food Buyer

Food Buyers: Your time is valuable and we’ve streamlined the survey as much as possible. We are providing tools to help you record and submit your food buying data easily.

Please email us at hawaii@oneisland.org  to request a worksheet that will help you quantify an average month’s purchases by pounds. Using that worksheet, Buyers then go to our online, easy to fill out, survey forms for: Fruits, Vegetables, Spices and Coffee, Herbs and Greens.

Each online form will be submitted separately and collects type of business, type of produce, and quantities in pounds. Buyers can submit one or more survey forms. If a Buyer does not have internet access, they can also mail in the worksheets. Phone: 808-328-2452.

Your contribution of time and information will be a HUGE help towards building   a stronger local agricultural economy.

Email us at hawaii@oneisland.org to get started.

Thank you!

How to Participate as a Farmer

Please email us at hawaii@oneisland.org  to express interest in receiving the outcomes of this survey in an easy to read report format. One Island will be hosting follow-up farmer meetings with guest experts to help our island growers examine strategies for how best to solve these unmet local food demands.

How to Participate as a Volunteer

If you know of a restaurant, grocer or other commercial food buyer you would like to invite to participate in the Food Buyer Survey, please email us at hawaii@oneisland.org

What is One Island?

One Island is a sustainable living program hosted by Heritage Ranch, Inc., a 501c3 rural education and development non-profit organization that conducts grant-funded studies, research projects, workshop series, training programs, and provides grants to rural communities. We have been serving Hawaii since 2002 and have brought over $2.185 million in rural development project funding to the Island of Hawaii to date.

Learn more about One Island at www.oneisland.org