Kanu Hawaii's "Eat Local Challenge" -- a weeklong campaign featuring locally grown and raised ingredients in markets, farms, stores and restaurants across the state -- begins Sunday, Sept. 26. Now in its second year, the 2010 Eat Local Challenge theme is "Harvest to Table."
Sponsors of the Eat Local Challenge ask all residents to eat solely locally grown/harvested food for the week. If you can't eat "strictly local" for a whole week, there are other ways to participate, from eating local for a day, to hosting an all-local potluck, shopping at participating stores and eating at participating restaurants.
Joining online gives participants access to updates on market and restaurant offers, and event information. Go to http://www.kanuhawaii.org to find out more. (Click on the Eat Local Challenge campaign information.)
"It's the Eat Local 'Challenge' because we know it's not easy to find enough locally grown food for an entire week," said Alani Apio, Kanu Hawaii board president. "The point is to be aware of why it's so hard to find locally grown food, how that makes Hawaii vulnerable, and to see what we can do to strengthen our local food system."
"Hawaii's food supply is heavily dependent on imports, our agricultural infrastructure is deteriorated, and if barge and airfreight were interrupted, we'd have only a two-week food supply. Kanu Hawaii wants residents to understand that and take action," said Apio.
The campaign includes educational volunteer opportunities, panel discussions, film screenings on food sustainability, workshops, school events, restaurant offerings and in-store events. Some partners include Kokua Hawaii Foundation, Hawaii Public Radio, Town and Downtown Restaurants, Native Books/Na Mea Hawaii, Whole Foods, The United Fishing Agency, Foodland, Zippy's and KTA Super Stores.
For more info, visit http://www.kanuhawaii.org/eatlocal. Contact Erin Shaw, volunteer campaign chairman for Eat Local, at 808-342-7894.
Kanu Hawaii is a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation overseen by a volunteer board and administered by a small staff. The mission is to protect and promote island living through a connection to the 'aina, a culture of aloha, and local economic self-reliance. There are more than 12,000 members registered with Kanu Hawaii.