Farm Aims To Increase Access To Fresh Foods
City Councilwoman Kymberly Pine
For more than 30 years, Waianae’s own Kahumana Community Center has steadily produced some of Oahu’s finest organic produce.
Tucked away in the heart of the Leeward Coast’s majestic Lualualei Valley, the center’s Farm and Café offers farm-to-table fare and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to provide fresh and healthy food.
The certified organic farm specializes in growing lettuce and Asian green mixes in addition to herbs, root vegetables and kalo. It also provides harvests to the Café’s kitchen and various local farmers markets. A dedicated group of volunteers from the community contributes to sustaining the farm’s growing operations.
Over lunch at the cafe, I recently met with chef and executive director Robert Zuckerman, who incorporates the farm’s produce directly into the lunch and dinner offerings. He explained Kahumana’s vision, which includes expanding its outreach into the local community to bring awareness to the healthy and fresh food options right in their own backyard.
A key part of this outreach is Kahumana’s participation in the CSA program. For those who cannot make it to lunch or dinner at the cafe, Kahumana’s CSA provides neighboring communities an opportunity to take Kahumana produce home.
CSA assists local residents in forging a direct relationship with their local farmers. For $25 a week, Kahumana Farms offers boxes of seasonal vegetables, fruits, mixed greens and herbs.
The share boxes are available for pickup on a weekly basis Fridays and Saturdays. Recently, Kahumana’s CSA program expanded its reach by accepting EBT cards to subscribe.
Kahumana Farms is one of the shining examples of local farmers’ commitment to increase access and affordability of fresh, healthy and locally grown foods to the residents of the Leeward Coast.
Kahumana Farms is located at 86-660 Lualualei Homestead Road in Waianae, two miles from Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. The cafe is open Tuesday through Saturday, serving lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. To check out the menu or learn how to sign up to become a CSA member, call 696-8844 or visit kahumanafarms.org.
