Local Organic Produce

Local island grown small farm organic produce is becoming increasingly more common in our produce aisle here at Mana. It’s not only one of our main objectives but our customers are demanding it as well. Here we will look at a few of our own Maui grown certified organic local producers.

Charlie's Farm Right up the road from our store in Paia, the produce team stopped by and checked out Charlie's Farm where he is producing sugar cane, taro, and a whole lot of great Bananas, Charlie is a natural, as he has been growing food since he was a kid and it shows. His bananas are abundant plump and beautiful, and produced less than a mile from Mana Foods.

Pictured: Austin, Charlie, Mason and Victor

Gildersleeve Farm In Lower Kula We visited the Gildersleeve Farm, were we saw this summers pineapple crop shaping up nicely and a whole new orchard of mangoes taking shape, They have been growing local potatoes, beets, citrus, bananas and late season special lilikoi varieties.

Ulupono Sunstainable Agriculture from Kapalua (West Maui) is wonderful model of a certified organic larger scale agriculture operation flexing and bending and adopting a more diversified approach to farming than the conventional hundred acre mono-cultures typical of most large farms. They raise mostly organic pineapple but they are incorporating chickens and eggs, as well as a variety of tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, lettuce, onions, lychee, and some citrus as well. They are now the largest certified organic farm. In the state of Hawaii and we are very fortunate to be able to keep most of the produce they grow right here on Maui.

Kumulani Farm run by Steve Wilson up in Beautiful Olinda has been growing organic produce for Maui for over 10 years. Steve Host’s the Annual Soil Conference put on by The Maui Aloha Aina Association (MA’A) at his farm each year. Kumulani produces: Kales, collards, Butter Lettuce, Romaine, Green leaf, Maui Onions, Squash, Cucumbers, and more. Crop Rotations, cover cropping, minimal tillage, farm made compost, Effective Micro-Organisms (EM), good balanced soil mineral management are important aspects of farming for this small certified organic grower.

Haiku Organic Farm Out in Haiku we stopped in and checked out the large fields of Organic Salad Mix from Haiku Organic Farm were they are working hard to bring affordable organic bulk salad mix to our bins. A small Family Farm they are a very consistent supplier for us and their mix is priced right and well received by our customers. Dealing with the birds and working to find the perfect organic fertilizer hasn't been easy but they have stuck with it and are really pumping out the produce now.

Wahkimba's Farms A little higher in Haiku we stopped in to visit Wahkimbas Farms where most everything is done by hand, He saves all his own seeds (a very tedious and time consuming process). His main tools are a pitch fork and a machete. His Rasta Salad mix has a big following and each leaf is hand cut with scisors and selected to go into the very special mix which is different every time and not dominated by lettuce like most mix. Wahkimba has a knack for producing high quality delicious produce. His two acres are extremely diverse growing sugar cane, bananas, taro, sweet potatoes, yacon, cassava, radish, daikon, herbs, greens, corn, peanuts, poha berries, carrots, and many others all hand done with very low inputs he makes his own compost fertilizer a more traditional sustainable approach to farming than the over mechanized standard that relies heavily on imported fertilizer and seeds.

At Evonuk Farms a local fresh fruit, veggie, and herb producer they have been supplying their island fresh produce for over twenty years, Walter Evonuk and his wife are taking over the reigns from his father Ed Evonuk. They are producing the largest local selection of herbs and spices on the island.

Their farm has a huge Photovoltaic Array which helps to power all the buildings and refrigeration on the farm. They also raise bananas, pomegranates, avocados, citrus, Sapotes, and other fruits to compliment their veggies like lettuce, eggplant, beans and radishes.

Hana Fresh is a non profit organization that seeks to improve the health and wellness of the Moku of Hana particularly among Native Hawaiians and those who are underserved due to financial, cultural and geographic barriers.

Hana Fresh and Hana Health bring together farming and health care in a unique approach to community wellness. Hana Fresh supports the center's mission to promote a healthy lifestyle and reduce the risk of chronic diseases through production and improved access to fresh fruits and vegetables. All produce grown is free of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides and is picked fresh daily.

From Ryan Earehart:
As Produce Buyer and Manager for Mana Foods, the largest independent natural foods store in the state of Hawaii, I am always looking to develop new partnerships and nurture existing ones.
Hana Fresh, which is now one of our primary fresh local produce suppliers has done and continues to do a first class job at growing, grading, packing, and delivery of their fine fresh organic produce. We are into the second year of our partnership with Hana Fresh and it is so refreshing to see the diversity of their fresh offerings continuing to expand. We have hundreds of regular customers purchasing Hana Fresh Produce each week; in fact dozens are so passionate about Hana Fresh products that they alter their shopping days and times to coincide with Hana Fresh Deliveries. Hana Fresh has proven to be so consistent in their exceptional quality and regular delivery schedule that these customers are happy to plan their regular shopping around them.

Diversified organic agriculture is still an up and coming sector in the Hawaiian Islands and Hana Fresh is surely setting the standard for others to follow in the future. The demand for these products is growing weekly and we are excited about the possibility of having more fresh and value added items to offer our customers in the future. The Hana community is so blessed to have such a thriving operation in their area as it is a very isolated from the rest of the island. The people who live around Hana have little other options for regular reliable supply of diverse wholesome nutritious produce. I believe Hana Fresh is actually making Hana a more viable place to live and be sustainable on Maui. As a member of the Maui Community myself, I personally applaud all the efforts that Hana Fresh has undergone to get to their current level of service to our community and look forward to what the future has in store.

Heavenly Grove
Now in the prodice isle: Crimson Sweet Watermelons grown with sustainable, organic methods in a fun and relaxed environment on Ululani Farm, Molokai. In the Hawaiian language, Ulu means grow, and Lani means Heaven. Translated, Ululani means Heavenly Grove or Growing Toward the Heavens. Ululani represents the essence of the farm as well as their fundamental philosophy of daily living.
The 50 acres in the Ag Park is located on the drier (and sunnier) leeward side of Molokai. Water for the drip-irrigated fields comes from catchments in a windward mountain valley, through a mountain tunnel, via a reservoir, and gravity piped to the farm.
Persistent NE trades make windbreaks a necessity. Banana trees are planted crosswind in a row every 200 feet.
No herbicides are used on the fields, instead, the mowed grass clippings under the trees improve soil consistency and nutrition, and promote the necessary soil microbes, all which makes our papayas and mangos even sweeter.
Mean chemicals that are not consistant with organic standards are not used. However, the farm is not entirely organic because of papayas high nutritional needs in Hawaii's poor volcanic soil. Soil conditions are being built up, so they can be organic.

Joel Gil Coca of Coca Farm in Kula is a great example of a small farm certified organic producer. He along with his family is working daily to raise vegetables for our island community. Hard work and long hours preparing soil, planting, fertilizing, managing insects and micro-life, sales, harvesting, packing, and delivery are just part of the routine. Coca Farm has been growing a large variety of very high quality items for us including: red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, lacinato kale, green kale, swiss chard, green beans, Kula onions, beets, fennel, kohlrabi, green cabbage, red cabbage, napa cabbage, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, and strawberries.

April2011: Over at Coca Farms we saw Joel and his crew working away in the vegetable fields which were chocked full of gorgeous leaf lettuce, sweet potatoes, carrots, cassava, fresh herbs, broccoli, cabbage, kholrabi, beets, spinach and even some asparagus and papayas in the works. Coca farms is one of the bigger growers of certified organic produce on Maui, A family run operation with three generations helping out to get the produce to market.

Hale Akua Garden Farm in Huelo is another up and coming certified organic small scale producer. At Hale Akua they are providing and educational service by offering useful organic gardening/farming classes to the community as well as to their wwoofer’s or Willing Workers On Organic Farms which are people from all over the world with diverse backgrounds coming to Maui to live, learn, work, and share in an agricultural experience. Hale Akua has been growing some diverse varieties of produce for us including: Beets, radishes, daikon, turnips, eggplant, green beans, yellow beans, parsley, cilantro, basil, baby bok choy, and bananas.