This September Down to Earth will participate in Kanu Hawaii's Annual Eat Local Challenge! by offering special vegetarian cooking classes and in-store demos featuring local produce and putting select local produce at 15% off!
Look for savings in a special hard-copy edition of the the "Weekly Produce Super Deals" flyer that will be available in all our stores during September. Or, check out the "Weekly Produce Super Deals" on our website. You may also look for special "Eat Local" signs that will be displayed by each produce item that is included in this September promotion.
Kanu Hawai‘i’s Eat Local Challenge will engage thousands of islanders in the effort to build a more sustainable, secure, and healthy local food system. The month will feature weekly mini-challenges devoted to “growing our own” food, learning and sharing resources about challenges facing local agriculture, and how/where to eat local.
We will join individuals, businesses and organizations across the islands in a pledge to raise awareness about, prepare, and promote local food.
Inspired by Gandhi’s famous directive to “be the change you wish to see in the world,” the local social action network Kanu Hawaii aims to motivate social change on a grass-roots level. At Down to Earth, we hope our efforts will help and inspire you to support the local food movement by becoming familiar with the issue, spreading the word and buying local produce.
We Support Local Farmers!
Since we first opened on Maui, over thirty years ago, we’ve made local farmers a priority by buying from them first. Down to Earth typically purchases nearly $2.5 million in products from 400 local vendors including 172 farmers and growers each year! We strongly support local farmers through our policy of purchasing virtually all the produce they are willing to sell us—even if it’s only a crate full. The reason we do this is simple. Customers prefer local produce because it is fresher and better for the environment. It consumes less energy in transporting products to our islands. Purchasing from local vendors supports our local communities, and we appreciate the opportunity to help farmers succeed.
To help promote consumption of local produce, customers will find select local produce on a 15% off sale for the entire month of September including:
- Mangoes – Ululani Farms, Ho'olehua, Molokai*
- Solo Papayas – Diamond Head Papaya, Puna, Big Island
- Apple Bananas – Sugar Land Farms, Waialua, Oahu
- Avocados – Johnson Farms, Puna, Big Island
- Pineapples – Hali’ imaile, Maui
- Thai Watermelons – Aloun Farms, Ewa, Oahu*
- Organic Papayas – Kumu Farms, Molokai*
- Organic Apple Bananas – Ono Farms, Hana, Maui
- Corn – Kahuku Farms, Kahuku, Oahu*
- Okinawan Sweet Potatoes --Xinglong Farms, Papaikou, Big Island*
- Tomatoes – Sugarland Farms, Kunia, Oahu
- Local Lettuce – Various farms from neighbor islands
*Not available at the Down to Earth Hilo location
Local honey will also be featured, as well as Nutrex Spirulina from the Kona coast of the Big Island.
Free "Eat Local" Cooking Classes
We invite you to attend our free vegetarian cooking classes and demonstrations. These events will feature a variety of local produce and ingredients at all our locations throughout the month of September.
For those who haven’t had the good fortune to participate in or be impacted by a Kanu Hawaii pledge, we hope you will take this opportunity to familiarize yourself with the efforts of this outstanding group. Kanu, which means "to plant" in Hawaiian, was the name chosen by a group of young people back in 2008 when they decided to join together to address the problems they saw in Hawaii: environmental degradation, economic insecurity and intolerance. Each person made a commitment before the group to take specific steps in their own life to address these issues. By making their pledges public, they gained inspiration, support and accountability. Now, through social media, web-based tools and community outreach, Kanu Hawaii is creating opportunities for people from all walks of life to make pledges and take on challenges that will ensure the continuation of island life and island values.
Among the hundreds of different actions that Kanu Hawaii organizes, their Eat Local challenge stands out. Supporting local agriculture is one of the most important steps a person can take to help their health and the health of the environment. In Hawaii especially, it is also one of the most urgent. Hawaii currently imports between 80-90% of its food. Because of our isolated location, imports use large amounts of fossil fuel and leave us heavily affected by rising gas prices. In addition, anything that might interrupt container ships threatens to have an immediate and devastating impact on food security.
This point was brought home to many people after a tsunami warning in February of last year. When Governor Lingle advised people to stock up on a week’s supply of food, she was reminded that there isn’t enough food in Hawaii to last everyone for a week, if the ships stop coming. Growing food locally is the best and easiest solution to this problem.
Whether you "go local" to help the environment, the local economy, or just because it tastes better, you are part of a rapidly growing group of committed citizens who are passionate about local food. Many people have experienced that after thirty days of performing a certain activity, a habit begins to form. Exercise that was once a struggle is now an easy routine. Recycling, which was once a haphazard afterthought, is now second nature.
At Down to Earth, we know that local food and local farmers need to be a priority all year long. If this is your first time making an effort to support local agriculture, welcome. We hope these first steps become a life-long habit. If local food and local business is already a priority for you, we offer our thanks. Your actions are leading the way in a journey towards better health, food security, and sustainability for generations to come.