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Slow Food O'ahu News

Number 2016-6
Mailed May 31, 2016
Table of Contents
Long Story Short and Family Ingredients Series on Food on PBS: June 21 and 22 for six weeks
2016 Legislation on Organic Farming - Update
Slow Food O'ahu Chooses Three Terra Madre delegates - Part 1 of 3
Family Ingredients: Local PBS Food Series Premieres this summer
Long Story Short: Ed Kenney Tuesday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Six Part series begins Wednesdays, June 22 at 7:30 p.m.

Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox:  Profiling Ed Kenney Tuesday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Hawai'i restaurateur Ed Kenney has been bringing the people of Hawai'i together with food for years. His Kaimuki restaurants (town, Mud Hen Water, and Kaimuki Superette) have our Slow Food O'ahu "Snail of Approval"  With their farm-to-table feel and focus on locally sourced meat fish, and produce.  His ambition to capture the Island's rich history through food drives the premise of Family Ingredients, the locally produced food travelogue program that he hosts. 

Family Ingredients Series Starting June 22 for Six Wednesdays

Join Ed Kenney and friends on a culinary adventure as they follow a food memory from Hawaiʻi to its origins that cross the Pacific Ocean.The producing team behind Family Ingredients includes DIrector Ty Sanga, producers Renea Veneri Sewart and Dan Nakasone, and Executive Producer Heather Giugni.  Part foodie, part travelogue, part genealogy, Family Ingredients is a fun, fast-paced TV series hosted by Kenney. 

Episode 1 "Hawai'i - Poi" on Wednesday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m.   Hawaiian cuisine is blazing its way into kitchens across America with exciting flavors and ingredients, but the most famous  Hawaiian dish is the one that is most misunderstood.

Episode 2 "Okinawa - Soki Soba" on Wednesday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. Okinawan soba is not to be confused with Japanese soba. The blend of noodles, soup and pork spare ribs embody the spirit of the Okinawan people and the complex history that make up its islands. 


Episode 3 "Tahiti - Poisson Cru" on Wednesday, July 6 at 7:30 p.m. It started because they said it couldn't be done.  Polynesians navigate their world on canoes following the stars.  Modern seafarers proved it was true.  Meet a crew members on the Hokulea worldwide voyage traversing  the planet with a stop at his ancestral home.  A family moment to remember and a dish never to forget.

Episode 4 "California - Pipi Kaula" on Wednesday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m.  At one time, the Hawaiian cowboys were considered some of the best cowboys in the world.  They also made the  most tender beef jerky called pipi kaula. We'll trace th origins of the Hawaiian cowboy lifestyle to the adobes of California and discover how these traditions of music and food are still enjoyed today.

Episode 5 "Japan - Miso Soup" on Wednesday, July 20 at 7:30 p.m.  In Japan, miso factories are like microbreweries in America.  Ed Kenney and fellow Hawai'i restaurateur Alan Wong dive  into the origins of miso soup, Wong's favorite childhood dish, and search for the finest ingredients.

Episode 6 "Puerto Rico - Arroz con Gandules" on Wednesday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. Purto Rican pride thrives in Hawai'i.  Ed Kenney meets up with entertainer Tiara Hernandez, whose  family grew up in Waikiki showrooms.  They follow a culinary path to a country she's never seen to learn more about her heritage.


(This article courtesy of PBS Hawai'i magazine and website)
Policy Issues on Food Sustainability Update
Hawai'i State Legislature Provides Landmark State-Funded Tax Credit Supporting Organic Farmers (Note: subject to Governor's signature)
 
Hawai'i lawmakers hope to strengthen and expand the state's organic farming sector after passing unprecedented legislation. The legislation would allocate $2 million in state-funded tax credit for certified organic food production (House Bill 1689 CD 1). The state-funded tax credit is the first of its kind in the United States, and is designed to complement existing federal programs that help organic farmers overcome the financial barriers of certification.

State legislators believe the new program will reduce the burden on emerging small farmers seeking costly, but necessary, organic certifications and inspections. It will benefit organic farmers by helping them obtain the price-premium of certified organic products, promote the production of locally-grown food, and stimulate job growth in the agriculture sector.

Organic farmer Una Greenaway of Kuaiwi Farm and President of the Hawai'i Organic Farming Association says, "Organic farmers do have more costs than conventional farmers. As organic farmers, we welcome any and all support the state government can provide to offset those costs and help Hawai'i's organic industry."

Hawai'i's new tax credit will reimburse farmers the remaining 25% of costs not covered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic Certification Cost Share Programs (OCCSP), which currently reimburses eligible organic producers and handlers up to 75% of certification costs each year, to a $750 maximum.

The new tax credit also covers a wide array of costs that are ineligible under the USDA Cost Share Programs, including costs for any equipment, materials, or supplies necessary for organic certification or production of agricultural products that are specified in a farm's organic system plan. Coupled with the existing federal cost-share program, Hawai'i's new tax credit will reimburse an organic farmer for virtually all costs of organic food production and certification, up to $50,000.
"Organic agriculture has a huge role to play in addressing some of the most pressing issues of our time - economic revitalization, climate change, public health and environmental protection," says Ashley Lukens, Director of Hawai'i Center for Food Safety. "Through policy initiatives such as the new tax credit, we're seeing the state step up to fulfill its responsibility to support local food self-sufficiency, and recognize organic farming as a means for promoting a healthy, viable future for Hawai'i."
  
(This article courtesy of the Center for Food Safety Hawaii website) For more information, go to 
Slow Food O'ahu Chooses Three Terra Madre Delegates: Part 1 of 3
Profile: Nat Bletter

Terra Madre, Slow Food International's biennial celebration of food and sustainability will be held this fall in Torino, Italy.  Your Slow Food O'ahu Executive Committee has selected three individuals to represent our Chapter, all of whom have been accepted as delegates.  The three individuals are (listed in alphabetical order): Nat Bletter, co-owner of Madre Chocolate; Martha Cheng, food writer; and Charlie Reppun, kalo farmer in Waiahole Valley. We will profile each of the three delegates in this and the next two newsletters.  This newsletter will highlight Nat Bletter. 

Nat Bletter is no stranger to Slow Food O'ahu.  His name should be familiar to you as our Slow Food O'ahu leader for our foraging events as well as the co-founder of Madre Chocolate.  

Nat was asked "What is your vision for the food movement? How have you contributed to this vision locally, nationally, and globally?"  He responded that his vision is "to innovate the use of traditional nutrient-rich, delicious, affordable, and ecologically sustainable food plants such as ulu, uala, kaca, cacao, and ko as well as ecologically sustainable agricultural practices such as biochar, hugoculture, composting, permaculture, aquaponics, and organic farming."

Nat implements his vision by: regularly leading cacao farming workshops; taking part in permablitzes to add food gardens to people's houses including his own so that he can eat largely from his own food gardens; starting a bean-to-bar chocolate company, Madre Chocolate, that recreates traditional and ancient chocolate recipes of the Mesoamericans and teaches classes and an educational cacao garden; studying traditional food and medicinal plant practices in Central American and Asia; leading edible plant foraging tours to create meals from wild plants growing around Hawaii.  His edible plant foraging tours are called "Eat the Enemy", giving a fun, catchy name to ecological restoration on the fragile island ecosystem.

The next newsletter will highlight our second delegate, Martha Cheng. 

Slow Food Leadership

  

Slow Food O'ahu Officers: Mae Isonaga, Chair;  David Bangert, Treasurer; Sharon Odom, Secretary;  Francine Wai, Newsletter Editor; Nina Bermudez, Membership and E-mail correspondent; Matthew Lynch, Board Member; Tom Sheeran, Slow Food Chinatown Tour Coordinator.

Slow Food Regional Governor: Laurie Carlson

Facebook manager: David Bangert

Webmaster: Wendy Hee

Slow Food Membership

To join, go to the http://donate.slowfoodusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Member_Benefits

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