Chef Hui 2021 Quarter 1 Report
Quarter One in Review
Aloha kākou,
After nine months of rapid response, Chef Hui has shifted to a model that is more aligned with our original goals to keep farmers farming, chefs cooking and communities fed with our mission to connect the culinary world with their community through food in order to build a more robust and sustainable food system in Hawaiʻi.
This year we continue our flagship Feed the People and Give and Go programs, while also growing our Mahiʻai Meal Kits program – a program that provides culinary education, supports local farmers and chefs while encourages families to cook at home together.
We are telling more stories about our community, providing more information on sustainable and indigenous ingredients and creating spaces for chefs to collaborate on the work they are most passionate about. In that spirit, we started inviting restaurant workers to volunteer farm workdays, engaged our ʻUlu Ambassadors in cooking demos and to host Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative’s Spring recipe contest, and have just formed our first Sustainable Seafood Council.
Quarter 1 produced a hybrid of the nonprofit work activated in 2020 and the culinary-community connecting we are known for.
We are excited to see what the future holds.
Mahalo piha,
Chef Hui
Community Partners
Chef Hui partners with local nonprofit organizations and restaurants to serve vulnerable communities hit the hardest by COVID-19.
With their help we were able to provide culturally appropriate food and identify whether groups preferred prepared meals or ingredient boxes paired with food-related resources such as cooking demonstrations and recipes.
A huge mahalo to:
Beni Co. Bentos
Child and Family Service
Central Union Church
Dean & DeLuca
Early Childhood Action Strategy
The Food Basket Hawaiʻi Island
Kula No Na Poʻe Hawaiʻi (KULA)
Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation
LāHui Foundation
Laulima Food Patch
Le Fetuao Samoan Language Center
Nourish Kauaʻi
We Are Oceania
Waikīkī Health Shelters
Y. Fukunaga
Closing Thoughts
We are still in the midst of COVID-19. As Hawaiʻi continues to recover, Chef Hui continues to participate in local food distributions and partner with organizations that serve the communities affected by food insecurity the most.
There are fundamental issues that go beyond the scope of what Chef Hui can often provide. Poverty needs to be addressed on a government level. Old, disparaging colonial ideals need to be dismantled. Local, regenerative agriculture needs to be put front and center. Restaurants and other small local businesses still need more relief.
Our work to connect communities to their food source; help strengthen the local food system; encourage the support of local farmers, ranchers and fishers using sustainable practices; help create partnerships between chefs, farmers and distributors; and to provide educational and fun opportunities to learn about local ingredients and sustainability is our offering to help push the needle in the right direction.
