Hawaiʻi Taro Farm
Robert "Bobby" Pahia is a Hawaiian farmer who has a vision of farming as a way to strengthen both the community and the land. He built a collective of farmers from different cultural backgrounds and uses regenerative farming techniques from around the world. He and his team began harvesting vegetables and protein en masse just hours after the fire, knowing that the need for food would be huge.
Local Harvest
The folks at Local Harvest put on an amazing farmers market—and they've done so for over a decade. The Saturday before the fire in Lahaina was the ten year anniversary of their twice weekly farmers markets. In the aftermath, they worked to find a solution for how to help the people who were impacted, as well as support the island's farmers.
Maui Grown Tomatoes
"We're really keen on being a small part of this food sovereignty movement here on Maui," said Joel Winicki, owner of Maui Grown Tomatoes. "We're aware that over 90% of our food here is shipped in from the mainland, when we have some of the most fertile soils in the world...So I think it's up to the small farmers to kinda carry a lot of weight." Despite the damage sustained to their farm by the hurricane-force winds, Joel and his farm have been donating fresh produce—tomatoes, avocados, bananas, papayas—to WCK and other organizations who are helping feed the community.