COVID-19 Relief and Response Campaign – A Message from Our Manager

February 2021 UPDATE: We have provided over 60,000 lbs. of minimally processed local starches for our communities in need and an additional 3170 lbs. has been donated through our website to the The Hawaiʻi Food Basket directly. Mahalo for your generous contributions!

July 12, 2020

When the seriousness of the global pandemic became apparent in March, we launched our COVID-19 Relief and Response Campaign, asking ourselves: how can we best serve our farmers and the community during these uncertain times?

We identified two key strenths we have to offer:

  • Weʻve got ʻulu. A lot of it. And it’s already steamed and frozen in a minimally processed form that can keep for years to ensure the availability of this wonderfully nutritious, versatile, and sustainable crop.
  • We’ve got commercial-scale processing and storage capacity. A resource far too limited in Hawaiʻi that we can leverage to preserve other local crops if there is excess supply.
In the months that followed, we’ve been humbled by the show of solidarity and support from you, and by the multitude of collaborative, grassroots responses to COVID-19 in Hawaiʻi. Mahalo nui for buying local and for supporting campaigns to care for our most vulnerable, such as our #ONO4ULU Relief and Response Campaign in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Food Basket.

With your support, weʻve had the privilege of contributing 20,000 pounds of wholesome, recipe-ready ʻulu, ʻuala, kalo and more, providing 80,000 individual meals. Weʻve also had the joy of connecting with many of you personally when you purchased ʻulu for yourself or others.

These connections have enabled us to continue supporting our 85 small-scale farmers and 14 employees, and to lend a hand to other Hawaiʻi Island food producers like the Hawaiʻi Island Goat Dairy, Sweet Cane Farm and Cafe, Sundog Bread, and Lilipops, now mainstays in our ʻUmeke and Kōkua CSA boxes.

Now itʻs July, the official start of ʻulu season at HUC. We see this time of change and abundance as an opportunity to leverage the momentum of spring and collectively work towards strengthening Hawaiʻi’s food system beyond the current crisis. Feeding our kūpuna and ‘Ohana in need continues to be crucial, but it is also a time to focus on building and restoring resiliency in our islands.