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People in Hawaii love talking about food, almost as much we love eating it. But would that enthusiasm be maintained if we committed to only eating 100 percent local? That’s what Reporter-Host Michael Levine asked when he committed to Kanu Hawaii’s . In his series entitled From Ground to Grindz: Trying to Eat Local, Michael opened with his mission: “I’m trying to give up any foods and beverages with ingredients not grown here in the islands. I’m taking you with me — and asking for your help.” In addition to getting support from Civil Beat members, he also got a few tips.

Eating Local

• Rosie Goo cheered on his efforts, while supplying some of her family’s favorite local foods from around the island:
  

  “If you’re going to do chicken, you might try Tin Roof Ranch in Haleiwa. Fish is still a hard one – too much and your blood will be filled with things it shouldn’t be but I have a papio in my freezer and it’s yours if you want it. Came from Molokai’s East End. As for greens, the Farmer’s Market offers organic choices that give us reasonable choices to not only eat well but malama ‘aina – such as MA’O and Kimberly Clark’s Just Add Water. And back to chicken, I know that the Blue Lotus guy has chickens but I’ve never been able to connect with him – he’s sometimes at the Thursday Market at St. Clements. Our family takes a challenge every day – we eat local grass fed beef either from Kokua Market (Kulana Foods) or Kauai’s Meideros family operation – we eat locally made bread from Agnes Portugese Bake Shop (but the ingredients aren’t local) and we’ve started to drink Hawaii Fresh milk (although I feel we can trust Organic Valley), we buy eggs from a couple in Punalu’u who don’t use GMO feed and treat their hens well – we’ve got two of our own that should start laying in a month of so and we’ve got 6 meat bird chicks that we’ll process with a friend in another 4 -6 weeks – we’ve never done this before but we’re inspired to try so we can eat local and feed our children good meat. It’s hard to be totally local if you want rice and olive oil and cheese (although there are options, they are not as readily available as mainland alternatives) but we think it’s worth trying to do what we can and to support local producers – they work to provide us with healthy fresh food and deserve our support. You’ll do well with the challenge… looking forward to hearing about your journey.”

• Rosie’s comments inspired other members to cheer on the effort, and throw in a couple other Eat Local ideas:

  “What a background to add to your eat local challenge! Looking forward to your updates. Are you going to try and cook ulu? There are many ways to prepare it and it sure is yummy!” Olin Lagon

• Sara Katahira:

“Can’t wait to hear more about your adventures! I’m joining the Eat Local campaign as well (although, didn’t commit to 100% all week) and will be checking in for tips!”

• Sage Takehiro:

“Blue kalo ulu crisp cookies from the Big Island. You’ll never go back to Nabisco again.”

• In From Grounds to Grindz — Day 4: Reservations About Dinner, Michael realized that it’s sometimes easier said than done when trying to make a dinner reservation and eat 100 percent local:

“Thanks for doing the fact check, Michael. I’m a big supporter of many of our Eat Local partners this year, but like you, I have noticed that some stores label items 100% local when it is unclear if that’s true. For example, Umeke Market labeled Kaiulani Spices’ 100% local, but their ingredients include brown sugar and other spices. Not sure if the brown sugar is from Maui and what “other spices” include. Also, any local seasoning with garlic makes me question if they are home-grown garlic because as you’ve heard from others, I don’t think there’s a commercial garlic farm in Hawaii. Still, I would say the Eat Local campaign is a success this year. It has generated a good deal of attention in media (including social), engagement, and great discussions.”