Kaimuki, Hawaii
News Item

400 pounds of food donated at Farmer's Market!

Let your friends know.... click on the Like and tweet button above.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Give It Fresh Today: A success story in the making! - View Event Profile

Give it Fresh Today is a produce donation project. We started officially on 1/2/2010 and have had an amazing response from the public. In our first weeks we have collected over 400 pounds of food for the Institute of Human Services and Unity Church of Hawaii. We collect produce donations from the shoppers at the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation's Kapiolani Community College farmer's market on Saturdays between 7:30-11:00am and distribute the locally grown food to organizations that help to feed those in our community who are less fortunate and have fewer choices about what they eat. In our first week, we had 63 donations, and in our second week we had 43 donations.

People shopping at the farmer's market are already making an effort to support local agriculture with their purchases because it is aligned with their environmental or health values. This project gives the shoppers an opportunity to support the farms that they love, while supporting organizations that help to feed the hungry with healthier meal choices. We get to support these organizations by offering healthy, locally-grown food. It helps keep more money flowing through our local economy. Extra home-grown produce is also gladly accepted, and our donation table provides a weekly drop-off point for people with extra produce growing in their yards.

Many food drive programs make requests for canned goods and non-perishables. This program is asking for fresh fruits and vegetables that will contribute to the health and wellness of the people receiving the donations. It also supports local agriculture in the process. Some of the vendors at the farmer's market have made donations, but that was never the intended focus of the program. We want to support the farmers in providing valuable fresh foods to our community. If the farmers want to make donations at the end of the market, they have been welcome to do so. The farmers and vendors are supporting us by displaying signs in their booths. Preserving lands for agricultural use is important for so many different reasons. At a time when we're more concerned about our use of fossil fuels, and more people are choosing to "eat locally," it just makes sense that we should try to feed the less fortunate on our island with food that doesn't have to be imported, keeps money in the local economy, AND is more nutritious. Donations have included everything from bananas and tomatoes, to okra and breadfruit.

We're also accepting monetary donations and would love for volunteers to come and support our ongoing efforts by donating and collecting food on Saturdays. We have 2 shifts 7:30-9:30am and 9:30-11:30am.

What will you be asked to do?

1. Collect produce donations and give a "Thank You" flyer to each person that donates.
2. If anyone would like to have their donation recorded for tax purposes, have them fill in their information on a form.
3. Collect information from folks who would like to volunteer/help out.
4. Help to organize produce donations and load them into trucks at the end of the market.

3 people will be scheduled per shift, so that volunteers can do their own personal shopping during the shift that they choose!

Please do drop by, volunteer to collect donations, make a donation, and be the change that you wish to see in 2010!

Vivian Chau
giveitfreshtoday@gmail.com

RELATED LINKS

Kaimuki Hawaii Featured Pages

Kaimuki Hawaii Maps and Guides
NEW - check out our new interactive maps, restaurants, clothing stores, parks and more... More...

Free Giveaways and Sweepstakes from KaimukiHawaii.com
Free stuff from Kaimuki merchants, business and organizations! Free make-up lessons, marketing tips and more...

HELP THE KAIMUKI COMMUNITY!
Refer someone who purchases the MBC Web site solution and we will donate $250 per referral on your behalf to a KaimukiHawaii.com charity, nonprofit or association of your choice (click on link for approved list). Yes, you can refer yourself. More...

Back | Current News
News Archive

Kaimukihawaii.com cannot guarantee the accuracy of the this News Item. KaimukiHawaii.com maintains this News Item for your personal entertainment, information, education, and communication. Except as noted, there is no affiliation between the KaimukiHawaii.com and this News Item. KaimukiHawaii.com assumes no responsibility for any aspect of this News Item. KaimukiHawaii.com has not reviewed all of the sites linked from this News Item and is not responsible for the contents of any off-site pages or any other sites linked to the Site. Your linking to any other off-site pages or other sites is at your own risk.

Kaimuki, Hawaii News Item

400 pounds of food donated at Farmer's Market!

Kaimuki, Hawaii
News Item