Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Community Individuals living on Kaua?i including youth, primarily those attending school, as well as the adults that care for, feed, and educate them including teachers, teacher aids, school administration, cafeteria staff, parents, and guardians. The community was also involved in a kalo recipe contest ti hep crowd-source kid-friendly recipes for our guidebook. Schools Schools on Kaua?i including public, public charter, private, and home schools. We also include pre-schools/ECEs, after-school programs and organizations that host youth programs during summer, fall, winter, and spring school breaks. Teachers, cafeteria staff, and administration have all been key audiences that have received outreach and education about the program. Kalo Farmers Farmers residing on Kaua?i that grow kalo (taro). Government School Food Service Branch, DOE Farm to School Coordinator, and government representatives have been informed and updated on project progress. Technical Assistance Providers UH-CTAHR Extension Agents Our work matters to these various groups for a number of reasons. First, the remote island of Kaua?i has just a 5-day supply of food (which is upwards of 85% imported). Yet, Kaua'i is the number one producer of kalo (taro) in Hawai'i, producing two-thirds of our state's crop of this culturally important food source. Most of this kalo is shipped off-island to poi mills, but local kalo farmers aim to keep the food on Kaua'i to feed our people. Formerly a daily staple in the Native Hawaiian diet, kalo was cultivated in a 100 different varieties, eaten as the main dish at almost every meal and enjoyed by the entire population. In the ancient creation stories of the Hawaiian people, kalo is not just food - kalo or H?loa is the elder brother to the Hawaiian people who trace their genealogies back to this plant and continue to live in a reciprocal relationship of stewardship and nourishment to this day. Rightfully, kalo is one of the few cultural starches grown in Hawai?i that is approved for use as a grain alternative in child nutrition programs by USDA, and is also typically a baby's first food in Polynesian and Oceania cultures due to its easy digestibility, high nutrition, and because it is hypoallergenic. MK has collaborated with individual kalo farmers and fiscally sponsored grants for kalo farmer hui (groups) and throughout this work we've heard many of their challenges as well as what motivates them to continue farming taro. Kalo farmers are truly the fabric of our island's culture and history, and a key to our food sustainability as a remote and vulnerable community where we have the 2nd highest child food insecurity in the country where one in four children faces food insecurity - in a place with a year round growing season no less. The majority of kalo farmers are Native Hawaiian, carrying with them decades of ancestral practices of culturally-based food production. The Kaua'i Complex Area of the Department of Education hosts 21 schools serving 8,500+ keiki (children). Much of the food being distributed and consumed at the schools has little cultural importance due to lack of familiarity and preparation knowledge. As we move forward in this work, we continue to hear confirmation and support from the various groups that make up our target audience, all of whom have acknowledged that kalo deserves to reclaim its rightful place in our everyday food culture. Changes/Problems:The only major change was the staffing change, which left us without a coordinator/Kalo Specialist to help support the program for several months - significantly delaying kalo product development and production. We were finally able to hire a replacement in the summer, which has helped to get the program back on track to complete our goals by the end of Year 2. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our first set of workshops for cafeteria staff and teachers was hosted on September 21, 2024 and September 28, 2024 with a total of 18 attendees, 3 MK staff, 3 guest speakers, and 3 host site staff. ? How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have been developing and releasing social media and newsletter content to our communities of interest. This included the development and release of our first year's Kalo Farmer Needs Assessment results, which was also directly shared with industry technical assistance professionals, and later published in a Civil Beat article on taro production in Hawai'i that was published in October. We have a Farm to School webinar scheduled for October 14, 2024 to share details about our Kalo Kredit and Kalo Farm Field Trip grants along with information about our Food Trees for Schools program. We will also be attending both the Schools of the Future and Hawai'i Ag Conference in November 2024 to disseminate some results with both the education and agriculture industries. We will be making a presentation at the Dept. of Education's Schools of the Future Conference, where many staff from across Hawai'i attend to learn about innovations and new programs in schools, and our Executive Director also mentioned the program in her Hawai'i Ag Conference presentation about our food hub facility. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next year of the project, some of our key activities and milestones include: Gain approval from Dept. of Education School Food Services Branch for our Kalo Fries and Pre-Steamed L?'au Leaf for trial in DOE schools and potential inclusion in meals using a recipe from the Kalo to Kula Recipe Guidebook Complete farmer supply purchasing, food hub equipment purchases, and kalo product production at scale to supply schools and institutional markets Conduct year 2 Kalo Farmer Needs Assessment and host a 2nd Kalo Farmer Dinner, with feedback from farmers designing future and ongoing program support Host 2nd Kalo to Kula workshop with teachers and cafeteria workers Complete Kalo Kredit and Kalo Farm Field Trip programs with schools

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Our first official Kalo to Kula training was held September 2024, with 5 attendees. Participants spent the day at the farm of partner organization Iwikua at Waimea High School. Our second Kalo to Kula training, also in September 2024, was held in Anahola at K?kula Kumuhana o Anahola farm and garden. 13 attendees including teachers from 1 Hawaiian preschool, multiple homeschools, DOE schools, and 1 cafeteria staff were present. Attendees participated in a number of activities including time in the garden assisting with weed maintenance and learning how kalo grows. Then we heard from generational taro farmers who shared about their farming experience and expertise. The group also learned how to use our recipe guidebook by breaking up into groups and preparing 3 different kalo recipes. They enjoyed a catered lunch that featured 3 other kalo recipes from the guidebook and were given leftovers to share with friends and family. MK staff went over the 2 grant opportunities open to schools, field trip grants and Kalo Kredits. Each participant received a recipe guidebook, printed kalo resources and curriculum, along with Kalo Kits filled with the recipe-ready ingredients available in the Kalo Kredit grant so that they can experiment with them on their own time. Our workshops highlighted the release of our Kalo to Kula Recipe Guidebook, which features 19 kalo recipes compliant to USDA National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. In Year 2 of the project we will be promoting the guidebook, and also beginning the field trip and kalo product grants (Kalo Kredits) to schools across the island to assist in implementing hands-on activities with keiki. The 2nd Kalo to Kula training sessions for teachers and cafeteria staff is scheduled for March 2025. 2. This work is expanding on our previous farm to school programs and also goes deeper into specific cultural food items in a unique way. It touches both hands-on education and food service in school environments, while supporting the taro industry to better engage with the schools in meaningful ways. 3. Begin batch testing kalo products: our first Kalo Specialist began batch testing 2 of our 4 main kalo products; kalo pa?a and l??au while identifying needed processing and packaging equipment. After he resigned, the position was vacant for 6 months while we searched for a qualified candidate. Batch testing continued, albeit at a much slower rate then was planned, with temporary assistance from other MK staff to continue progress on production. In August, the position was finally filled. Both the kalo pa?a and l??au products are being distributed to restaurants and schools for testing and feedback. Progress on our other kalo products is being made, including kalo flour and kalo fries. Poi was initially on our list of products but after farmer needs assessments and many 1:1 conversations with farmers, this is one product many of them would like to focus on and provide for the community. We will be focusing on kalo fries and l??au production while supporting established poi mills and these farmers who are looking to expand into value added production. Finalize kalo recipe Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Final SOPs will be completed in the coming months. The loss of our Kalo Specialist created delays in production and SOP development that were compounded by kitchen construction and permitting delays. We have since met with a local legend, Tammy Smith who is an expert in preparing cultural foods on a mass scale for both schools and elderly homes. She has agreed to visit our kitchen facility and help us finalize our SOPs while troubleshooting any underlying production issues. Purchase kalo processing and packaging equipment for food hub: our team has spent a significant amount of time researching and testing various processing and packaging equipment for efficient production. MK staff have also visited commercial kitchens at Waip? Foundation and K?ko?o ??iwi to gain more in depth knowledge for medium to large scale production of value-added kalo products. PD Soza is set to visit Maui Innovation Center and Ala Kukui in H?n?, both of which host a wide variety of industrial kitchen equipment. Kalo Recipe Guidebook: this guidebook hosts a wide variety of family recipes that have been adapted to fit into the USDA?s National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. There are recipes for breakfast, lunch and snack and all feature either the kalo corm or taro leaves or a combination of the two, as well as, poi - a staple Hawaiian dish of cooked kalo mashed and mixed with water. It was imperative to our team to include recipes that our community is familiar with and enjoys eating to ensure that the food would not be wasted when served in the cafeteria. Each recipe was tested multiple times and shared with various school aged children and adults for feedback and, if needed, recipe adjustments. Extensive analysis of the entire guidebook along with each recipe to verify compliance was done with the help of a former local Hawaii Child Nutrition Program auditor. Upon completion of taste testings and this final review, a nutrition analysis was completed for all 19 recipes and nutrition labels were created and included in the book. This guidebook also breaks down how to credit kalo, lau, and poi as different meal components in both breakfast and lunch dishes, as well as, how to locate them in the Food Buying Guide because both kalo and lau are listed under different names, Malanga (Taro) and Spinach, respectively. It also shares guidance on how much cafeterias should buy and cites the Food Buying Guide app and online tip sheets where cafeteria managers can seek further guidance. 4. Our student-led projects using kalo products was pushed to year 2 due to our staffing shortage, which delayed the kalo product production. We plan to still reach our end outcomes in year 2. This is also when the field trips are scheduled to occur. 5. We began engagement with the community, kalo farmers, and schools in the first year of the project. We hosted a Kalo Recipe Contest in December 2023, which resulted in 8 winning community-submitted recipes that were incorporated into our Kalo Recipe Guidebook. Leading up to our Kalo Farmer Dinner we conducted a needs assessment with 21 unique farms participation. From there we analyzed the data and prepared a snapshot to share back with farmers. Our dinner was held in December 2023 at Kawaikini Charter School which is centrally located on the island and has participated in various Farm to School programs and projects with MK for many years. The agenda for the evening was tailored around our kalo farmers to give them all an opportunity to gather, and in some cases meet for the first time, and enjoy a delicious meal together. We then shared details about Kalo to Kula and reserved the remaining portion of the evening for farmers to fill out evaluations. We specifically wanted to know if they were in support of the program, whether or not they were able to participate in this first year. 100% of the 19 farmers in attendance are in support of the program. Extensive outreach sharing promotional flyers via email, e-newsletters, and social media has been shared with schools and the broader community. PD Soza and M?lama Kaua?i Kaua?i ED are both deeply connected with schools throughout a number of years of Farm to School related projects. PD Soza has also fostered many personal relationships with teachers and school administrators at many schools across the island. Through these 1:1 opportunities, outreach has been on-going throughout the entirety of the project thus far.

Publications