Supporting homegrown food
Beyond growing food at home, you can support homegrown food by patronizing local vendors at farmer’s markets.
There are many options for supporting homegrown food in addition to growing your own food. Here is a summary of some of the best ways to eat locally and sustainably grown food.
Buy or trade for homegrown food from your neighbors. Neighborly exchange of food is an integral part of local culture in Hawai‘i, inspiring a sense of cohesive community.
Volunteer to help a neighbor with their garden. Sharing work with neighbors empowers them and thereby benefits the community as a whole.
Trading with or buying from neighbors is a great way to strenghten your local food system and community relationships.Community gardens are an option for those who don’t have access to land where they live. Support the establishment of community gardens throughout the island.
Buy from small producers at local farmers markets. Many vendors at our local farmer’s markets sell surpluses from their own home gardens. Support enthusiastic gardeners financially when the opportunity arises.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a way to support local growers by committing to regular produce purchases.
Donate money or volunteer at school gardening projects. School garden projects give kids an opportunity to learn about growing food, which they can teach to their family.
Insist on locally grown from retailers and restaurants. Spend your hard-earned food dollars locally and you ensure that local gardeners and farmers can afford to continue growing food, while keeping your money circulating in your local community, rather than leaving the island to buy imported food.
Web resources
Local Harvest - Organic
Buy Fresh - Buy Local
CTAHR- Farmers Bookshelf
Hawai'i Island Farmers Markets
Hawai'i Fruit
Hawaii Homegrown Food Network (you are here now)
Community Harvest Hawai'i
Natural Farming Hawaii
Hawai'i Master Gardeners
Grow Hawai'i - A Hawaii Farm to School Project
Permablitz Hawai'i
Sustainable Ag at CTAHR
Hawai'i Agriculture Notes
Craig Elevitch is director of Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network and an educator in agroforestry. His books include Agroforestry Guides for Pacific Islands (2000), The Overstory Book: Cultivating Connections with Trees (2004), Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands: Their Culture, Environment, and Use (2006), and Specialty Crops of Pacific Islands (2011), all of which promote diverse agricultural systems that produce abundant food.