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On the slopes of Pu‘u Pa‘upa‘u, at Princess Nāhi‘ena‘ena in Lāhaina, the Hawai’i Farm to School Network team put on their long awaited Farm to Early Care and Education event- Gardens of Growth: Nourishing Young Minds & Bellies. The October 19th event was a collaboration with the Center for Getting Things Started; the Maui Farm to School Network lead, Grow Some Good; and Maui PATCH. It was offered as part of the Gardens for Resilience and Climate Education (GRaCE) USDA rapid response grant. The event was an intimate family friendly space for early childcare providers from Maui and Lana'i to learn about the healing power of Farm to Early Care and Education.

The day started with a farm to school inspired movement and breathing series led by Rebecca Rhapsody. The group then split in two and dove deeper into the two spotlighted food plants - kalo (taro) and ‘ulu (breadfruit). Active hands-on learning happened in the form of art and cooking demonstrations. With Eileen Carr and Rebecca Rhapsody, participants created art pieces using naturally made dyes and ‘ulu skin for printing. With Koh Ming Wei and Noel Shaw, participants cooked up a shape-filled ‘ulu poke seasoned with hand harvested pa'akai from Moloka‘i and a creative poi parfait featuring poi from a 7th generation kalo farm based in West Maui.

To end the day, Lacey Abercrombie, the school garden coordinator for Princess Nāhi’ena’ena Elementary, led a garden work day for the group planting Native Hawaiian plants donated by University of Hawai‘i Maui and TipuTipu. Koh Ming Wei said “This event affirmed yet again the joyful importance of playing with food. Know the plant so that you will eat the plant is something Tiana Kamen always says. At the cooking session, we saw young children cutting, mixing, licking their lips and fingers and eating tasty, healthy locally grown food. Joy!”

The intentionally selected all star vendor list for Gardens of Growth pulled it together with food from Moku Roots and the Aloha Lifestyle, ‘ulu and kalo from the ‘Ulu Co-op, poi from Pūlama ‘Āina, waste management from Maui Huli Au, and produce box giveaways from Maui Food Hub. 

Mahalo nui loa to Princess Nāhi’ena’ena elementary for the space to host the event, Center for Getting Things Started (the master mind behind the event), Grow Some Good, the Maui Farm to School Island Network lead, and the many volunteers who helped put on a successful event.

GRaCE is supported by the A1712 Rapid Response to Extreme Weather Events Across Food and Agriculture Systems program, Project Award no. 2024-67019-41620, from the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

On October 12, the HIPHI team, along with the Department of Health, tabled and presented at the first pae ‘āina wide Hawai’i Association for the Education of Young Children (HiAEYC) Conference since COVID. The volunteer-run conference attracts hundreds of early child care providers from across the island chain who are hoping to further develop their skill sets and learn about resources available to them in caring for our most valuable seedlings, 0 to 5 year old keiki. It serves as the premier venue for early childcare providers to gather and is held on a Saturday to accommodate for the realities of packed weekday schedules full of little ones.

Noel Shaw, Hawai‘i Public Health Institute's Farm to Early Care Coordinator, Shannon Tanaka, Early Childhood Education Program Specialist at the Department of Health, and Samuel Foulchang, Menu Reviewer at the Department of Health- created a safe-space for Early Care and Education (ECE) providers to experience Farm to ECE for themselves during their presentation. Starting with a Mea Kanu (plant) and Mahi’ai (farmer) movement routine featuring the Harvest of the Month and ending with a taste test featuring Kako‘o ‘Ōiwi’’s Kūlolo Crunch, providers left with skills they could use for their ECE spaces. They also got to make a new ECE provider friend, complete the recently released pae ‘āina Farm to ECE survey, and participate in small talk stories groups around the core pillars of Farm to ECE. Emphasizing how much their voices were valued and centering caring for provider in the presentation, made for a rejuvenating time for providers to go out and make Farm to ECE more of a reality for themselves and the families they care for. 

The Hawai‘i Farm to ECE table featured an array of resources and spotlights. Happy Bento, Mālama Kaua‘i, Kako‘o ‘Ōiwi, and Mala ‘ai were showcased as spotlight food vendor, food hub, farmer, and field trip site. Sharing about Farm to ECE happenings and possibilities from across pae ‘āina felt really representative of the network and reflective of the ECE providers present. 

To learn more about Hawai’i Farm to ECE, contact Noel Shaw at noel@hiphi.org. Looking  forward to next year and mahalo for having the team HiAEYC!