Business Monday: Shop local at new Farmstand on Saturdays in Waikōloa Village

Shirley Kaniho bought land in Kurtistown six years ago to create Huina Farms, where she recently turned a dilapidated greenhouse into a place to grow lettuce with the help of volunteers from Hydroponic Hut.

“Growing 200 heads of lettuce from seed to harvest is about seven weeks,” Kaniho said.

She said she is trying to get on a good rotation so that she can regularly provide lettuce to the Farmstand, a newly launched market that sells fresh baked goods, produce and other products sourced from small businesses, bakeries and farmers around the island.

About 200 people attended the soft opening on Jan. 17 of the Farmstand, which is organized and run by Waikōloa Grows. The nonprofit already hosts a monthly Waikōloa Community Market, which has vendors that also sell non-food items.

The Farmstand is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Waikōloa Stables, 68-1936 Waikōloa Road, the same location as the community market. There will be a grand opening for the Farmstand on Valentine’s Day.

Ann Wurden, executive director of Waikōloa Grows, said there is a need for consistent access to fresh food, with KTA Super Stores the only grocery store in the town that sells produce. The next closest market is Island Gourmet at the Queen’s Marketplace within the Waikōloa Resort, which is about a 15-minute drive from the village.

Wurden said the Farmstand is a great way to connect farmers with the residents. The Farmstand also provides grab-and-go foods, and cold drinks in an area with limited healthy food options.

About a dozen farmers from South Kona to North Kohala provided produce at the first Farmstand. Wurden said the nonprofit purchases the products from the farmers, including tropical fruits, citrus, papayas, bananas and rambutan, and sells them on Saturdays.

“A couple times a week, we are doing farm runs,” Wurden said.

The Farmstand also carries tomatoes, greens and the hydroponic grown lettuce, which Wurden said is “really popular because people are afraid of rat lungworm.”

The Farmstand sources eggs from farmers in North Hilo, and carries mushrooms, lions mane and blue oyster from the Puna Mushroom Company.

Lori Meeker, owner of Puna Mushroom Company, said the Farmstand has been an opportunity to break her product into the Waikōloa area. Before, she primarily sold her mushrooms in Pāhoa and Hilo, with Island Naturals, a health food store in Kona and Hilo, taking weekly shipments from her company to its West Hawai‘i location.

Meeker said she’s been providing Wurden with three to five pounds of mushrooms since the Farmstand opened, and it all sells out,.

“I’m hoping since they’re selling well that more people will be interested in mushrooms in general,” Meeker said. “If there is demand, we can expand into other markets in the area.”

Wurden ordered 24 heads of lettuce from Huina Farms for the first Farmstand and repeated that order for this past Saturday.

Crysta Costa from Hāmākua Creations, Honey and Produce, is selling her honey at the Farmstand. She also sells it at some gift shops as well as the monthly Waikōloa Market.

“Everyone in the village loves our honey,” Costa said, adding the Farmstand is a good source for local foods while supporting a variety of small businesses.

Wurden was particularly excited to work with Jeff McCall from McCall Farms, which grows rhubarb, a tart celery-like vegetable. He sent 15 pounds of rhubarb to the Farmstand.

“You can’t grow rhubarb in Waikōloa,” McCall said, adding the crop is commonly grown in temperate areas and it’s just cold enough to be grown at his farm in Volcano.

“Rhubarb isn’t the biggest seller, but we’re hoping to get more exposure,” McCall said.

Wurden said the Farmstand also has a free seed library.

“It extends the whole piece of encouraging people to grow their own foods,” she explained. “We also sell plants that are grown in the village.”

Waikōloa Grows is applying to the federal government to accept SNAP and EBT at the Farmstand.