HAWAIʻI AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATIONʻS LOCAL INSIDE ® CSA PROGRAM BECOMES THE LARGEST CSA IN THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI
Hawaiian Electric Company and First Hawaiian Bank employees join Local Inside to support Oʻahu farmers and support healthy lifestyles
Honolulu, HI – Local Inside®, the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program established by the Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation (HAF) in 2015, with its newest corporate partners, now boasts over 300 members, making it the largest CSA in the State of Hawaiʻi. Hawaiian Electric and First Hawaiian Bank join other large corporate employers, which include Atlas Insurance, Hawaiian Telcom, HMSA, UHA, and Y. Hata that offer Local Inside® to their employees to support our local agricultural industry and also promote healthy eating and wellness.
The corporate partnerships feed into HAF’s CSA growth plans to secure large corporate employers who have a vested interest in supporting their employees’ health and wellness. Six of the seven corporate Local Inside® CSA partners are part of the Blue Zones project that have implemented initiatives to encourage their employees to be proactive in making positive changes for their physical and mental well-being. Employees who join through the corporate partnerships will benefit from weekly produce deliveries directly to their office locations, making fresh, local fruits and veggies easily accessible.
The Local Inside® CSA program is committed to increasing the community’s accessibility to the best produce O‘ahu has to offer. Program members can choose from a weekly or bi-weekly bag of fruits and vegetables that are harvested at the peak of freshness from local farms spanning from the Leeward to Windward coasts, including HAF Ag Park at Kunia, ‘Nalo Farms, Kualoa Ranch, Mari’s Gardens, Ho Farms, Lokoea Farms, Aloun Farms, Small Kine Farm, Kahuku Farms, and Kupu Place Aquaponics.
“We are elated about our new partnership with First Hawaiian Bank and welcoming them as new members to our ever-growing Local Inside® CSA program,” says Denise Yamaguchi, Executive Director of HAF. “The program engages the community with local agriculture. Every member that joins helps us fulfill our mission to garner support for Hawaiʻi’s agricultural industry and brings us closer to securing a future for food sustainability here in the islands.”
“We are proud to offer our employees the best produce our local farms have to offer through our new wellness initiative.” says Bob Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of First Hawaiian Bank. “Not only are we supporting our employees by providing them with direct access to healthy, locally grown food, but we are also supporting local farmers’ businesses and our community.”
Hawaiian Electric Company started offering the Local Inside® program to their employees earlier this year in April, with more than 130 employees signing up in the first week. Starting today, 64 employees at First Hawaiian Bank will receive their first Local Inside® delivery at First Hawaiian Bank locations in downtown Honolulu on Bishop Street and at Kamehameha Industrial Center in Kalihi.
About Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation
The Hawai‘i Agricultural Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization created to promote agriculture and farming. Established in 2007, HAF’s mission is to support and sustain Hawai‘i’s agricultural industry by addressing critical needs and services of farmers and the agricultural industry in Hawai‘i, and by better connecting the farmers with the community and vice-versa.