Page 44 - Living Aloha Magazine March/April 2017 Issue

HealtHy buSineSS Spotlight Kauai

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it takes a Village

by emma cornish Jacobsen

A hot morning sun reflected orange and green
on the citrus orchard surrounding our small
group while tangelos, grapefruit and lemons
threatened to drop all around us.

“Don’t forget to taste before you pick” our harvest leader endeavor for them both. The pair decided to send a grant
reminds us as each of my interns promptly drops their fruit proposal to Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA),
picker and breaks open a fresh tangelo from a nearby tree. and $10,000 in funding was secured to launch their
It’s difficult to decide on a tree to harvest from when every- gleaning effort with the Master Gardeners in September
single branch is ready to split from the weight of a forgotten 2014. During the first year of the pilot project, 450 hours of
harvesting season, but being directed to eat one isn’t nearly volunteer energy gleaned 9,187 pounds of produce, which
as tough when the sweet smell of the orchard has been was delivered to schools, afterschool programs, and food
nagging each intern since we arrived. pantries across the island.
It is the last morning of an agriculture internship program “We started getting more calls than we could respond to!
taking place on the north shore of Kaua`i, facilitated by Farmers and residents wanted us to pick from their trees,
nonprofit Malama Kauai. This morning these Kauai High and lots of locals and visitors wanted to help us harvest,”
School students were brought to a local property to taste says Fox. “When we couldn’t keep up with all of the produce
fresh citrus, harvest from the trees and learn about food available, we knew we had a really big opportunity in front
insecurity in Hawaii. Our leader is Tuula Perry, an AmeriCorps of us to bridge those who had excess with those who had
VISTA Member who coordinates the gleaning effort Village very little.”
Harvest, which focuses on rescuing unused, fresh produce To date over 39,600 pounds of produce has been collected
and re-allocating it to those who have limited access to and delivered to sixteen different service agencies,
fresh, organic food.
including four Hawaiian-focused Public Charter Schools,
The Village Harvest program is the brainchild of Kauai three of which have no school food program. “One of the
Master Gardeners Megan Fox and Keone Kealoha, directors most amazing things about Kauai is that the community
of the local nonprofit organization Malama Kauai. With a is so tight-knit and comes together to help one another,”
focus on addressing food self-reliance and sustainability explains Perry. Already, twenty-two different sites have
issues, Fox, Kealoha and their partners in the University of now donated produce for picking, including GoFarm - the
Hawaii’s Kauai Master Gardener Program, were naturally statewide farmer-training program, some of the island’s
interested in tapping into the estimated 50% of produce largest farms and several individual residents.
that falls to waste on Kauai every year. Malama Kauai recently expanded Village Harvest to a full
Although Hawaii still imports upwards of 90% of its food time program with a coordinator through Americorps VISTA,
supply, Kauai’s nickname, The Garden Isle, is quite fitting thanks to funding by a variety of organizations including:
due to its ancient reputation as a prolific breadbasket of The Bill Healy Foundation, Atherton Family Foundation,
the island chain. With daily farmers markets and strong Ulupono Initiative, Sidney Stern Memorial Trust, RSF Social
local farming culture, this involved island community Finance, Matson Foundation, Friends of Hawaii Charities,
demonstrates why the gleaning program is so successful. Americorps HI and Corporation for National & Community
Village Harvest started with just a few acres of orchards at its Service. Since Perry was onboarded in October 2016, she
center, but as residents and farmers learned of the project and her volunteers have gleaned over 27,000 pounds of
and its goals, they wanted to be involved. underutilized produce. The program has also donated
equipment such as juicers, blenders and food dehydrators
The personal mission of Fox and Kealoha—to drive action
towards a sustainable Kauai—made gleaning an attractive to support schools and afterschool programs in reducing
spoilage and expanding nutrition education.

44 KAUAI Living Aloha | MARCH–APRIL 2017