Healthy Food Hits Kahala In A Big Way
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Considered the world’s leading natural and organic foods emporium, Whole Foods Market will open its first Hawaii store at 7 a.m. Sept. 10 at Kahala Mall, bringing with it hopes for island agriculture and jobs in general.
The store takes up most of the former Star Market wing of the mall and will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
Thirty local farms are already lined up to supply the Texas-based food giant with fresh food products, and the majority of its staff also have Hawaii ties. With 14 of its 20 team leaders (managers) current or returning residents, officials are proud of the success of their “reverse brain-drain” campaign.
“Each team leader brings strong passion for our wide variety of natural and organic food products,” said Michael Besancon, head of WFM’s Southern Pacific Region.“Their love for Hawaii and local knowledge will add value to the customer’s shopping experience because they understand local tastes and will be able to share how to incorporate our products into local recipes.”
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The Kahala staff also met recently with Waialae Elementary School second-graders to promote the value of fresh vegetables and fruits. The result was 50 ceramic tiles - including one by their teacher - adorned with colorful produce designs that will be on permanent display inside.
“They’re being fired in the kiln right now,” said Claire Sullivan last week. The coordinator of community and vendor relations, she said Waialae was a good fit because the students already are budding farmers through their Aina in the Schools garden program.
“This is a terrific opportunity to reinforce the healthy food choices that we strive to instill in our students, in a way that is fun and creative for the kids,” said Wendy Lagareta, chief educational office of the public charter school. The store intends to replicate a KCC farmers market theme so vendors can talk directly with shoppers, share samples and demonstrate food preparation. “Customers are hungry for information,” Sullivan reasoned, “and when farmers make that connection, it has an impact on sales.”
WFM visits all of its contracted farms, she added, and plans to take its entire produce team to MA’O Organic Farms in Waianae this week “to talk and get a richer sense of what it means to farm here.”
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