PUHI — “We could use some ice cream,” said one of the Leadership Kaua‘i youth group shoppers on a recent Saturday at the Kaua‘i Community Market. Another chirped in, “How about more meat (ready-to-eat) products?” The Leadership Kaua‘i youth shoppers
PUHI — “We could use some ice cream,” said one of the Leadership Kaua‘i youth group shoppers on a recent Saturday at the Kaua‘i Community Market. Another chirped in, “How about more meat (ready-to-eat) products?”
The Leadership Kaua‘i youth shoppers are part of a new program started by the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau in an effort to encourage young people to shop and eat more locally produced items, said Melissa McFerrin, the coordinator of the Kaua‘i Community Market and the Gourmet Market at The Shops at Kukui‘ula.
“Jerry Ornellas (of the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau) talked to the students and as an assignment, asked them to shop the farmers market for things they could eat,” McFerrin said. “The other part of the assignment was to think about what they wanted to eat and if it was not available, to list them.”
Saturday’s group of shoppers, each being presented with $15 in coupons, were from the Kaua‘i High School 11th grade class, the students coming off participating at the Kaua‘i United Way Walk as Key Club members.
“The students use the coupons like cash, and we reimburse the vendors,” McFerrin said.
After spending some time shopping, the students settled on a variety of products including fresh eggs, pasta sauce, kulolo, some bread, their coupon allocation almost all spent.
“We learned how to make ice cream in one of our classes,” one student said. “They should have someone selling ice cream.”
Currently, the market offers Ono Pops which is related to ice cream, closer to a Popsicle since Ono Pops utilizes frozen fresh fruit juices.
Laurie Ho was enjoying a bowl of soup from the Hanalei Taro lunchwagon, noting they are trying to expand their menu offerings to appeal to more people.
McFerrin said another development at the Kaua‘i Community Market is the change of hours.
“Due to popular demand, the Saturday market is now from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” she said. “This is pretty permanent and people don’t need to worry about the hours changing with the seasons. It’s 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.”
Visit www.kauaicommunitymarket.org or call 337-9944 for vendors interested in being part of the market coordinated by the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau.
