Small Farms and the Food our Kids Eat

Last night on April 20th, 2010, I was able to capture the second meeting of the Maui chapter formation for the new Hawaii Farmers Union.

There are some incredible people coming together to share their knowledge of farming and the Hawaii Farmers Union Maui chapter is growing at a rate higher than any other in the nation!

We have many small farmers that are working very hard to be heard and deserve to be.

The days of major corporations running the agricultural lands and the existing "support" organizations siding with the developers rather than the small farmer over existing Agricultural land has to stop.

I hope to have the video up on my website at www.EmpowerMaui.com soon. The last meeting is there under farming and can be watched. It is broken down into about a dozen 9 minute clips. If anyone is interested in full length versions or even just MP3 audio recordings of these meetings, let me know at Farm@empowermaui.com.

In the meantime many programs have centered around the schools, school gardens and teaching children the value and fun of growing their own food, especially in a place like Hawaii where we know send BILLIONS of dollars away each year to farmers on the mainland and can only ship in enough food to supply Hawaii enough food to last less than two weeks.

I have contributed to a group that is seeking funding for a movie about the school lunches and would hope you would help too. They are only trying to raise a small amount and donors have a choice of receiving gifts for different donation levels if they wish. The name of the movie is "Lunch Line".

So if you are able to help, please make a pledge today! They have only 26 days to go to raise the money and they are part way there.

Here is the link:

Maui's Small Business Fold One By One. The Strawberry Lady and My Grandson

As we see many Small Businesses folding up and either For Rent or Lease signs taking their place and in many cases Real Estate agencies posting signs to sell the properties, it's a great time to get super deals on Maui Real Estate, especially Commercial Long term.

One place close to my heart was a small Family Farm up in Omaopio, just below Kula. There was an old Japanese lady that ran a Strawberry stand with the Strawberries growing behind her.

My Grandson and I enjoyed stopping and buying a basket of her Strawberries or home-made Jam and munching away. In fact, I was luck if I got any. It was always a great adventure.

The other month I noticed a For Sale sign on the property and recently noticed the stand was gone. I never knew the ladies name and what the circumstances are behind the sale, but I assume that with her age and maybe a lack of family or family willing to continue on, she has chosen to retire.

Here are a few picks of My grandson enjoying his favorite snack.

The Stand is gone, but the Strawberries are still growing!