Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience was the entire population of the island Molokai, which consists of approximately 7,500 people. Our island community is 72% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and we have the highest percentage of unemployment (14%) and poverty rates (20%) in the state of Hawaii. The median income is 64.18% of the state average. Thus, our programs have served a high percentage of racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged. This project focused on youth, as many of our programs were delivered through the island's 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. We also worked closely with our island farmers, providing training, support, and connection to on-island and off-island (larger) markets for their products. In addition, our Mobile Market customers benefited from having easy access to fresh, locally grown and produced products. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has directly provided PD through the business coaching provided by Local Orbit and Homegrown Direct. In addition, it partially helped support Harmonee Williams, who attended the University of Vermont?s Food Hub Management Certificate Program in 2016. Lastly, it helped support Jamie Ronzello, who undertook extensive training in food safety for farmers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Sustainable Molokai has been working to make our island more food secure, in order to improve our community's physical and financial health and well-being. This 3-year grant focused on 3 areas of food security: increasing demand for local foods; increasing supply of local foods; and establishing the Molokai Food Hub to better connect supply and demand. We were able to make significant progress in each of these areas, as summarized below. During this period, Sustainable Molokai (SM) increased the availability of and access to fresh local produce by being the vendor of the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program for our elementary schools, which was served to over 900 students, with a brief lesson on how and where the produce was grown, along with the nutritional value. We also launched our Mobile Market in 2016, which sells fresh local produce, as well as locally produced proteins and value-added products to our island residents. SM served over 400 customers during this grant period. In addition, we hosted 24 workshops/demonstrations related to nutrition education and cooking with local food, with a focus on cultural (Hawaiian) foods. Regarding production, we hosted/co-hosted 5 workshops and trainings related to farming production and food safety. Our sales to the schools and through our Mobile Market have enabled 33 farmers to reach new on-island markets, without having to do the marketing or delivery. We have worked with many of these producers to help them increase their production and income. Lastly, during these 3 years we tried numerous "experiments" to connect supply and demand, in order to determine what works best for our community. This has allowed us to decide which programs to focus on (FFVP and Mobile Market), and have enabled us to develop a more diversified income stream for our organization (less grant dependent). Obj 1.1: Sustainable Molokai (SM) continued to be the FFVP vendor for our islands' 4 elementary schools over the 3-year grant period (the schools participation varied by year, dependent on them signing up for program or not). This allowed us to serve fresh, local produce to over 900 elementary students ages 5-12, along with nutrition education. Our data collection consisted of collecting the number of students served at each school each year. Statistics: Year 1 - Kaunakakai Elementary (325 students); Year 2 - Maunaloa Elementary (60 students); Year 3 - Maunaloa (50 students) and Kilohana Elementary (90 students); All 3 years - we were a supplemental vendor to Kualapu'u Elementary (350 students), which enabled us to deliver an average of 10 fresh local products per year to this school, most of which also had cultural significance, such as taro and sweet potato. Obj 1.2: Over the 3-year grant period, SM hosted and/or participated in 24 school-based family nights and/or other similar community events, where we engaged youth and their family in nutrition and cooking classes. In 2017, we led a program called "Kalo Connection" (kalo is the Hawaiian word for taro, the Hawaiian staple carbohydrate), which involved having kalo farmers demonstrate how to make poi from kalo, and allowed participants to pound poi themselves. Statistics include: Year 1 - 7 events, 325+ participants. Year 2 - 11 events, 500+ participants. Year 3 - 6 events, 150+ participants. Obj 1.3: In 2015, we hosted a weekly booth at our Saturday market 6 times, but did not have very good results. So in May 2016, with the additional assistance of a USDA LFPP grant, we launched a Mobile Market, which consists of an online brokerage service that allows Molokai farmers to post their weekly availability, and customers to select locally grown produce, as well as locally produced proteins (grass-fed beef and shrimp) and value-added products. SM delivers to 2 locations weekly, along with offering extra items available for point of sale purchase. The Mobile Market has had grown over the past 3 years as follows: Year 1 - 12 farmers/producers, 60 customers, 400+ orders, $13,000+ in sales. Year 2 - 28 farmers/producers, 276 customers, 2,445 orders, $90,000+ in sales. We also became a SNAP/EBT verified vendor in September 2016, which resulted in 73 EBT orders, and $2,600+ in EBT sales. Year 3 - 31 farmers/producers, 355 customers, 3,165 orders, $121,000+ in sales, with 266 EBT orders, and just under $8,000 in EBT sales. Overall, the Mobile Market has had a tremendous impact on our community. Over 30 farmers/producers now have access to an easy to access on-island market to generate income, and over 350 local customers have access to fresh, local goods. Many of our customers say that the Mobile Market has made a major impact on their ability to eat healthier and support local. In addition, in September 2018 we received a USDA FINI grant, which has enabled us to offer Double Bucks to EBT customers. Obj 2.1: Sustainable Molokai has done extensive outreach to our island farmers to see how we can help increase their production. This has consisted of emails, phone calls, 1-on-1 meetings, attending and presenting at larger ag-related meetings, working with our University of Hawaii Agricultural Extension Agents, and just recently, partnering with the University of Hawaii Maui College at Molokai. Many of them are not full-time farmers as their primary profession. In addition, our Mobile Market Manager, Jamie Ronzello, has taken numerous food safety trainings, to be able to train our farmers in this critical area. In addition, SM has offered 2 Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training Courses, one in July 2017, and another in early Sept 2018, with over 20 Molokai farmers now PSA certified. We have also co-hosted 3 trainings related to crop production. Overall, 33 farmers/producers have sold their products through our Mobile Market and/or through our FFVP Farm to School program. Our staff has met with each producer to assess their needs, offer trainings, and ensure the quality of their products. The statistics by year are as follows: Year 1 - 13 farmers/producers selling through SM. Year 2 - 29 producers. Year 3 - 33 producers selling through SM. Objective 2.2: This objective was not completed for numerous reasons. Objective 2.3: This objective was completed indirectly, meaning that we supported the development of numerous value-added products by selling them through our Mobile Market. Objective 2.4: This objective was not completed, primarily because we have not had enough production to push off-island sales. Objective 2.5: This objective was not completed because our focus has been on our Mobile Market. Objective 3.1: This objective was accomplished in May 2016, when we launched our Mobile Market. We initially purchased software from Local Orbit. After a few months, we decided to switch to Local Food Marketplace (Sept 2016), which has fit our needs much better. Objective 3.2: This objective has been accomplished to a large degree, and has happened naturally, as various local producers have tried selling various products. Objective 3.3: Both Harmonee Williams and Jamie Ronzello were coached on business development by Local Orbit. The coaching was helpful for the first 6 months, and then we hit a point where the consultant had helped as much as she could. In October 2017, we hired Homegrown Direct to coach us, which again, was helpful to a degree (especially in financial projections). Objective 3.4: This objective was not accomplished due to various reasons. However, we have learned a lot during these 3 years and have shared that knowledge. Specifically, we have recently joined the Hawaii Good Food Alliance, a group of Hawaii-based organizations working on local food systems, and together, have been sharing lessons learned amongst ourselves and others doing similar work. Overall, we have accomplished much related to our main CFP grant goals. We are extremely grateful for this opportunity.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is the entire population of the island Molokai, which consists of approximately 7,000 people. Our island community is 72% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and we have the highest percentage of unemployment (14%) and poverty rates (20%) in the state of Hawaii. The median income is 64.18% of the state average. Thus, our programs serve a high percentage of racial and ethnic minorities and those who are socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged. This project will focus on the youth, as many of our programs are delivered through the island's 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. We will also work closely with our island farmers, providing training, support, and connection to onisland and off-island (larger) markets for their products. Changes/Problems:There have been no major changes or problems in approach. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has directly provided for professional development through the business coaching provided by Local Orbit. Indirectly, the project has supported the PD, Harmonee Williams, to be part of the University of Vermont's Food Hub Management Certificate Program. Although participation in this course has been funded through a private donor, she has been able to bring her experience from the Sustainable Molokai Food Hub into the program course. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have not disseminated the results yet. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The 2 biggest goals not yet accomplished have been (1) helping to create a steady supply of taro to fill on-island demand, including for raw product and value-added products; and (2) helping to develop at least 5 new value-added products. It seems like the most effective way to accomplish such goals is to fund them specifically, which we have not tried yet. However, we have been seeking grants that would subsidize producers to initiate such projects.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1. Increase the availability and incorporation of fresh, healthy, locally grown foods into the diets of our community, particularly low-income residents. Objective 1.1: We provided 14 servings of fresh fruit and/or vegetable (FFV) to 325 students at Kaunakakai Elementary for 7 weeks through the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), 50% of which was locally grown. We also provided locally grown dried bananas to the Kukunaokala Sunshine Backpack Program (KSBP), for 100 students. Objective 1.2: We engaged approximately 300 individuals through Family Nights in nutrition and cooking classes. We hosted 6 such events at 3 schools and 1 church, with over 50 participants per event. We also hosted the Kalo Cooking Contest at the Molokai Taro Field Day in September 2015, which included 25 participants in the cooking contest, and 152 participants in the Field Day. Objective 1.3: We launched our Mobile Market in May 2016, which now has over 60 buyers and 12 sellers (farmers/producers). We have had over $13,000 in sales, over 400 orders, and over $2,000 in revenue (based on 20% mark-up). Goal 2: Increase the supply of Molokai-grown produce and products. Objective 2.1: We hired Glenn Teves, the University of Hawaii, Molokai Extension Agent, to help us with farmer recruitment and education on growing for production. We have recruited 12 farmers and producers to sell through our Mobile Market, 10 producers to sell wholesale to our island schools, and 5 producers to sell wholesale to our off-island buyers. Objective 2.2: No on-island production plan yet. Objective 2.3: We have supported the development of 2 value-added products - dried bananas for the Backpack program, and helped to source locally grown Hawaiian Chili Peppers for a local producer of chili-flavored soy sauce. Objective 2.4: We are still working on branding of "Molokai Grown/Made". Objective 2.5: We are still researching off-island demand and markets for fresh, raw products and value-added products, but have sold frozen lilikoi pulp to an off-island buyer (over 500 lbs so far). Goal 3: Develop a financially self-sustaining community food hub. Objective 3.1: We have developed an online brokerage service for SMFH users. We were using Local Orbit, and are now transitioning to Local Food Marketplace. This is utilized for our Mobile Market. Objective 3.2: We are still researching the feasibility of various potential income streams to make MFH financially sustainable: value-added products, proteins (beef, deer, fish, eggs), prepared foods (cooked meals), mobile farmers market. So far, the Mobile Market has been a success, and continues to grow. Objective 3.3: The SMFH Manager(s) are being coached on business development by local food business specialist, Local Orbit. Their CEO, Erika Block has been leading conference calls biweekly since January. Objective 3.4: We are in the process of contracting someone to conduct a process and outcome program evaluation to assess achievement towards the program goals. Develop "Lessons Learned" or similar guiding document on our model.
Publications
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