Hawaii’s Bounty: 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.
Welcome Food Buyers: Chefs and Restaurants, Grocers, Food Distributors, Cafeterias, Food Trucks, Bakeries, Value Added Producers
The Same Canoe Local Food Challenge is inviting commercial Food Buyers to help us gather information about:
- What produce and foods are currently imported and in what quantities
- What produce and foods are currently purchased from local growers or value added producers
- What produce and foods could be purchased from local versus import sources, if it is 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! Information is power, and our farmers need to hear the potential demand to prepare to meet your needs. If you have any questions about data privacy, please email hawaii@oneisland.org.
Click below to add your company’s information in any or all of these four categories:
1) Fruits . 2) Vegetables . 3) Greens and Herbs .
4) Coffee, Cacao, Tea, Juice and Spices
If you’d like to request a worksheet to help you gather and submit this data, please email hawaii@oneisland.org and we’ll send you a packet.
We Know Your Time is Valuable – Here is Why the Survey Really Does Matter:
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.
About the Survey Host
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 $3 million in rural development project funding to the Island of Hawaii to date.
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