Support local food processors

Even if the Waialua Community Kitchen cannot be reopened, plainly there is a need for something very much like it to serve North Shore farmers and food businesses, and for others of its kind to support farm-to-table operations statewide.

In May, the state Department of Health issued a citation for noncompliance with wastewater regulations, leading to shutdown of the kitchen the following month. It occupied an old mill building on the Waialua Sugar Co. property, owned by Castle &Cooke, some 20 years after the company had closed.

The kitchen, which opened in 2003, had been one of the small enterprises established in the building. The structure still houses manufacturing businesses that produce everything from surfboards to crafts.

But those needing to use the equipment of the kitchen to yield finished food products that are ready-to-eat or otherwise processed have had to find other locations to get their products out to the customer.

This affects about 70 part- or full-time users of the kitchen, many of them farmers wanting to improve profitability by selling some of their crops as “value-added” products.

They are hoping that the operation can be revived, although Castle &Cooke so far has made no moves in that direction. The operation is run by a nonprofit, Empower Oahu, which is planning to return its leased equipment and dissolve as an organization.

This seems to be waste, considering what’s already been invested, including a $100,000 federal grant for equipment costs. Clients are rightly concerned that shuttering the kitchen for good would cut chances for securing finances for another venture.

The problem, say health officials, is that the cesspool on the property needs upgrades to be approved for food-service purposes — a new septic system that would cost $30,000-$40,000.

In a letter from the landlord, the nonprofit was told to close until it could demonstrate ability to comply to the Health Department. Its executives are hesitant to make such an investment, citing the organization’s shoestring budget and the uncertainty that the landlord would support its continued operation, for which it would offer only month-to-month lease terms.

But the amount does not seem an insurmountable hurdle, something community fund-raising and corporate support could overcome.

At about $400 monthly for full-time use as well as hourly rates for part-timers, it was an affordable option to small businesses. Keeping a facility in Waialua surely could support more startups.

When Waialua Sugar, the region’s principal employer, shut down in 1996, the kitchen was seen as a way to support diversified agriculture in the area. Having the means of support close to the farms remains the best way to do that.

Greater food self-sufficiency in Hawaii has been a goal of agricultural policy in recent years. Numerous studies point to “value-added” preparations or packaging of locally produced foods to enhance their appeal to convenience- minded shoppers. This also improves profitability for farmers, who can get more of their product to market in a variety of forms.

In a 2011 publication, Linda Cox, a community economic development specialist for the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, identified the capacity to process foods in this way as one route to “scaling up” the local farming industry.

Further, the state Department of Agriculture’s strategic plan lists the development of value-added products among the actions aimed at increasing the revenue a crop brings to farmers.

So it makes sense that the state continues to pursue opportunities to do so. Resuscitating the Waialua kitchen, and fostering the creation of more operations of its kind, is the sensible course to take.