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SUPERFRUIT OF THE GODS
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Revitalizing Breadfruit

Revitalizing Breadfruit

"The Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu Project.“

Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu is a project to revitalize 'ulu (breadfruit) as an attractive, delicious, nutritious, abundant, affordable, and culturally appropriate food which addresses Hawai'i's food security issues. It is well known that Hawai'i imports about 90% of its food, making it one of the most food insecure states in the nation. Additionally, since the economic downturn of 2008, many families lack access to affordable and nutritious food. We believe that breadfruit is a key to solving Hawaii's food security problems.

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First Annual Mango Festival

mango

Keauhou, North Kona

The 1st Annual Hawai'i Island Mango Festival opened at the Keauhou Farmer's Market at 10 am with a free and delicious culinary presentation by chef William Trask. The celebration of mango, the "King of Fruits", continued in the afternoon at the Keauhou Beach Resort's Royal Garden, beginning with an opening pule by Kumu Keala Ching, followed by live Hawaiian music and hula. Mango jams, butters, smoothies, salsas, shave ice, entrees and desserts brought sheer delight to the hungry and curious attendees.

Raffled prizes included community-donated orchids, essential oils, dinners, art, etc. Informative and practical educational activities about grafting, natural pest control, growing techniques and the nutritional and healing values of the mango were presented. A zero-waste event, the Mango Festival vendors used 100% compostable utensils and were assisted by the Boy Scouts of America to recycle waste in the appropriate bins, provided by the Hawai'i County Zero Waste program.

Over 1,000 unique varieties of mangoes have been identified throughout the tropics, and approximately 200 varieties are grown in Hawai'i. This healthful, delicious fruit is appreciated worldwide for its unique flavor and culinary diversity. Raw, cooked, blended, or baked, the mango delights the palate. Besides the Festival's cultural, culinary, musical, educational, and farming experiences, it demonstrated the uniqueness of Hawaiian agriculture. Research and development of value-added products is necessary to enhance the economic viability of the family farm. Canned, dried, pickled, and frozen mangoes are showing up in the marketplace. The Festival highlighted a range of value-added mango products, encouraging consumers to be bold and try new foods that include mango.

Research studying the health-promoting benefits of the mango shows that an extract from the mango kernel is high in antioxidants and polyphenols, known for their prevention of free radical build up in the body. Mangoes also exhibit one of the lowest glycemic indexes of all tropical fruits and can be enjoyed in moderation by those with a blood sugar imbalance.

Next year's Mango Festival promises to offer an even better look at Hawaiian mango products.

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North Kohala Food Forum

North Kohala

nk_food_forum_2009
Andrea Dean co-facilitates the North Kohala Food Forum, which took place in Kapa'au on Saturday, August 22, 2009

How does a community move towards producing 50% of its own food? This past Saturday, about 200 North Kohala residents came together at the North Kohala Food Forum in Kapa'au to find out. The North Kohala Food Forum began by surveying about 70 people in the food community in the following categories: food retailers, commercial food growers, commercial and institutional buyers, government-planning-education, and infrastructure managers. The survey results formed the basis for Saturday's event.

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It Takes a Garden to Grow a Community program

Mala 'ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School presented the 3rd class in the "It Takes a Garden to Grow a Community" program on Saturday April 18. Forty people joined Garden Teacher Amanda Rieux on the Hamakua Small Farms Tour. Five Waimea Middle School students participated. The group visited Maluhia Farm in Kalopa - home of Hawaiian Home Grown Wool Company.

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'From Bean to Bar' Chocolate Workshop

Kuaiwi Farm in Captain Cook hosted two chocolate-making classes which brought together 11 participants to learn the basics of the farm-to-table chocolate-making process. Farmer-hosts Una Greenway and Leon Rosner demonstrated the harvesting of the cacao beans, the drying and fermenting processes, and the complex methods involved in transforming the fermented beans into the finished candy product that so many chocolate lovers swoon over.

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Return to Freedom

Hoea Ea II, Hawai'i Island Youth Food Sovereignty Conference, June 10 - 14

Hoea Ea II, The Hawai'i Island Youth Food Sovereignty Conference, was held June 10 – 14 at Lihikai Hawaiian Cultural Learning Center in Keaukaha, Hilo. Hoea Ea II is one of a series of Hawaiian food sovereignty conferences and part of the age-old tradition of producing food. About 130 people -- youth, adults, and families – were involved in five days of malama 'aina, traditional and modern food production, cooking, and eating.

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Hawai'i Island Homegrown Food Self-Reliance Workshop

More than 40 Ka'u residents participated in this fourth Food Self-Reliance workshop sponsored by the Hawai'i County Resource Center and Permanent Agriculture Resources. It followed similar workshops in Kona, Kohala and Puna, with each workshop uniquely designed for growing conditions in its respective district. For Ocean View, conditions are particularly challenging: shallow soils and little rainfall. The workshop addressed these issues, and enlisted local farmers to describe how they meet this challenge. A major theme was soil building and conservation and water retention methods.
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