ELEELE — Eleele Elementary School kindergarten student Hubert Selakielu hesitated about trying the poi breakfast parfait set before him Thursday morning at the school’s cafeteria.
But his brother, Frederick Selakielu, a second-grader, lost little time undoing the lid and diving into the bowl of poi, chunks of pineapple and diced kalo on a plain yogurt base. He did not even notice the small container of granola that is the topping for the parfait.
“He likes poi,” said Jocelyn Constantino, who was helping the two students with their breakfast. “He eats poi and fish all the time. Hubert will see how much his brother likes it and then he’ll have it, too.”
The two students were among the crowd of breakfast diners who were joined by Lt. Gov. Doug Chin, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., Mayor-elect Derek Kawakami and dignitaries from the Department of Education.
“This is good,” Frederik said. “But usually, I eat poi by itself.”
The group gathered to celebrate the first Hawaii Department of Education school to serve kalo on the official school food service menu under the ‘Aina Pono Hawaii State Farm to School Program that was launched by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in 2015.
“This is significant,” said Kaina Makua, a kalo farmer with the Aloha Aina Poi Company who worked with Eleele School teacher Chad Shimmelfennig and the school’s fifth-grade class in hands-on instruction with a lo‘i on the Westside. “Kalo is a major food for the Hawaiians.”
Jerry Albarado was another guest who tried the poi parfait offering that was accompanied by a container of juice and milk.
“This is good,” Albarado said. “My daughter is working, and my grandchildren come here so we came to try this. This is the first time I’ve had poi this way. It’s pretty good.”
Similar agreements came from Waimea High School Principal Mahina Anguay who dined with her grandchildren, Sean Doi of the DOE “Shining Stars” television show, and Kauai Complex Area Superintendent William “Bill” Arakaki who stopped off to enjoy breakfast with the Eleele School students and staff.
“We had ‘ulu last month in ‘Ulu Beef Stew,” said kupuna Janet Kahelekomo. “It was OK, but in Hanapepe, people didn’t eat that much ‘ulu. You know this because there aren’t very many ‘ulu trees planted. People usually plant what they eat, and we have kalo growing here in Hanapepe.”
Paul Zina, in a kukakuka session with Makua, explained the significance of kalo and the land-based, cultural base in approaching education. This is led by Shimmelfennig, who embarked on a program of getting students to learn by taking field trips to the lo‘i where they returned to the campus to build a hale.
Zina equated the approach to that of trying to force feed a child vegetables.
Instead, he said, it’s like palu the fish — they try, come back, and try some more. First, it was the hale. More recently, Shimmelfennig, with the help of Malama Kauai and community sponsors, built a lo‘i on campus.
This was the backdrop for the fifth-graders who offered ku‘i to visiting dignitaries, including Chin who was first in line to try his hand at producing poi.
“It’s very gratifying to see how much the ‘Aina Pono Hawaii State Farm to School Program has revolutionized school meals,” Chin said. “So many students, farmers, and state legislators have already praised the program for providing healthy meals made with locally-produced ingredients.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
