HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0633.026 2020-2022 P/N555c
COMM.655
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Farmer owned, `dina grown
, 44, COUNTY CLERK
® COUNTY OF HAWAII -
°PERO RECEIVED
Time 2:5tp.m. Ry
5/31/2022 Date MAY 3 1 2U
Re:Testimony for County of Hawai'i's Nonprofit Grants-In-Aid Waiwai Grant Program for
FY 2022-2023,Communication No. 633.6
Dear Members of the Committee on Human Services and Social Services,
Please accept this written testimony in strong support of the Big Island Resource
Conservation&Development Council's application in partnership with Hawai'i'Ulu
Cooperative, "Place-based education opportunities for Hawai'i County keiki to engage with four
locally-grown staple crops: 'ulu,kalo, 'uala and pala'ai."We attempted to provide oral testimony
during your meeting this morning and hope you will accept this written testimony instead.
The Hawai'i'Ulu Cooperative (HUC)is the foremost agricultural producer cooperative in
Hawai'i County and represents over 100 farmers in every district of the island.Our purpose
is to restore Hawai'i's food sovereignty by uplifting'ulu and other Hawai'i-grown staple
crops while empowering farmers as changemakers in the local food system. Since our
inception in 2016 we have invested significant resources in youth education because we
believe exposing our keiki from a young age to local agriculture and indigenous crops is
critical to building a more sustainable,resilient and abundant food system for all.Past efforts
have included leading development of the'Ulu Education Toolkit,now a public resource
housed on the website of the University of Hawaii College of Education and a model for
other farm to school toolkits in the state;serving all 256 public schools in the Hawai'i
Department of Education with our farmers' crops from 2018 until the pandemic halted
DOE's'Aina Pono Farm to School initiative in March 2020; and,with your support, creating
the Kumu'Ulu Initiative to enable celebration of Farm to School month in October 2020
during the height of the pandemic—which was funded in part through a Hawai'i County
nonprofit grant in 2020.Most recently,we launched Ho'opili'Ai in partnership with the
Hawai'i Farm to School Hui to connect keiki with Hawai'i food crops through a unique
combination of recipe-ready crop boxes for classrooms and cafeterias paired with standards-
aligned curricula.
The proposed project will builf upon these efforts by developing four remote-friendly, ready-
to-use,standards-aligned curricula and meal kit boxes for educators to use in combination
with a farm-to-fork video series as well as a video tutorial for how to use the curricula and
videos. By helping to bring voices from various food system stakeholders—including
farmers, chefs, cultural practitioners,manufacturers and cafeterias—into a virtual-friendly
curriculum, this project will help students of all backgrounds from Hawai'i Island gain
increased understanding of local vs. global food systems, Hawaiian culture,future career
opportunities in the agriculture sector, and environmental stewardship through farming.
These objectives align with the interests of the Hawaii Island community as they will
expand the market for culturally significant and environmentally friendly staples,thereby
moving toward the county goal of local food system resiliency.In addition,the meal kits and
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Hawaii'Ulu Producers Cooperative • Comm. No. �P )•/1‘19/1‘1979-1017 E Honalo Rd,Kailua-Kona,Hawai`i 96740 1808-238-8869 I eatbreadfruit.com I infoAltbT��i € �{Q�de 555 C'
Ref. Date MAY 3 1 2022
educational resources provided by this program will support the health of Hawaii Island
youth and their families.
Farm-to-school education has been found to significantly improve attitudes towards school
and also encourage marginalized students to engage in food and environmental issues in
their communities. This work will expose keiki to various professional avenues within the
local food system and help instill healthy eating habits—preparing our next generation for
success in school,work and life.
Thank you for considering this proposal and please contact me if you have any questions
about our testimony in support of this application.
Sincerely,
Dana Shapiro
General Manager
(808)238-8869
dana@eatbreadfruit.com
wari Vim Producers Cooperative