Our Waipā afterschool program keiki are experiencing farm-to-table first hand this year. A major component of our after school program is gardening. Each keiki (or ‘ohana) has their own garden plot and has been working hard each week to prep, plant, maintain, and harvest an abundance of veggies. Some of the veggies they have been growing and taking home are: kale, lettuce, beets, carrots, cabbage, cilantro, string beans, and green onions.

We are thrilled with the excitement and enthusiasm the keiki show in taking responsibility for their own garden plots, and the sense of pride they feel in being able to provide their ‘ohana with fresh veggies each week. There is definitely a huge difference in how much effort they put into the garden, when it is their own. Not to mention, the tendencies they have to actually eat and enjoy veggies when they grow them themselves.

These keiki are also learning the invaluable lesson that you get back what you put in, as those who take the extra time to weed and malama their garden, end up with the healthiest, most vibrant and abundant produce.

We are so thankful for the opportunity to work with these keiki and do and share the things we love and believe in. A big shout out to Hau’oli Mau Loa foundation for providing us with the funding and opportunity to work with these amazing keiki.

Pictured, above:

Jayda, Mahea, Helena and Kaena planting their lettuce; Jaden, Kama, Keale and Gracie walking back from the garden with their goods; washing veggies after our first harvest; sisters Helena and Kaena with their weekly bag of greens to take home.

Well, its that time again- the keiki are back at Waipā twice a week for our after-school Homework Club’s winter session. We pick the keiki up from school and bring them to Waipā, where they do various outdoor activities and games, eat snacks, do their homework, have a session of instructional reading, and then go swimming (if weather permits).

We try to find healthy snacks which the keiki will eat and enjoy. We are also trying to be more sustainable with our snacks by trying to grow more and use what we have.

This photo shows a recent day when we served only food grown at Waipā for the Homework Club snack (except for the ketchup). We had kale salad, ‘uala fries, fried banana, boiled peanuts, and corn-on-the-cob. We eat a LOT of kale salad at Waipā. Other food we grow and serve often include lilikoi-banana smoothies, string beans, kalo pa’a, poi, soybeans, mamaki tea, and carrots.

Mahalo to Aunty Kari, our garden manager, and to Joseph, our agricultural consultant, for keeping the food in the ground so that we are able to feed our keiki such healthy snacks!

Farm to Table!