Suzanne Uratani of Makiki loves browsing at farmers markets. She’s a regular at several around the island, including the Wednesday evening farmers’ market at Blaisdell Center.
"First, it was about the produce and convenience of having an al fresco supper," she said of the Blaisdell market.
That’s still true, but the main draw for her now is a vendor who offers prepared foods. "While we get wonderful fruit from PIT Farm, veggies from Otsuji, Nalo, Milner’s and others, it is foremost about The Pig & The Lady; their soup, stews and banh mi, along with (owner) Andrew Le and family."
At the inaugural farmers market June 12 at Kapiolani Community College, Uratani and her husband, Ken, discovered ColdFyyre, all-natural artisan ice cream made with local products.
At home this week, she made a watermelon salad with Wow Farm tomatoes, Nalo Farms mint and a sprinkle of Naked Cow Dairy queso crumbles picked up at the market.
What Uratani makes for the week is inspired by what she finds in these shopping excursions.
Farmers markets, created as a way for local farmers to sell direct to consumers, are expanding around Oahu. Their popularity can be attributed, in part, to a growing "eat local" movement, and they’re evolving to include prepared-food vendors and a shopping and dining "experience," with live music, arts and crafts and even activities for kids.
The market scene continually changes, with more than 30 offered around the island (plus the city’s "People’s Open Markets" founded in 1973), new ones emerging and established ones on hiatus.
| MAKING THE MOST OF A MARKET EXPERIENCE
>> Farmers markets are all about freshly harvested fruits and vegetables produced on a relatively small scale. Expect a variety of items and things you may not see in a supermarket. Be flexible and adventurous and try new foods. That’s how we get farmers to diversify their crops.
>> Talk to farmers and vendors; get to know them and who they are. Learn how they grow and produce foods — organic, conventional, climate, geography, use of pesticides and herbicides?
>> Know what’s in season and take advantage of fruits and vegetables that are at their peak, especially if they are in season only once a year.
>> Bring sturdy shopping bags or, better yet, a shopping bag on wheels. Papayas, watermelons, pineapples and other fruits and vegetables get heavy fast. A cooler on wheels or in the car will help keep produce fresh for the ride home. Bring ice.
>> Wear comfortable walking shoes, plus a hat and sunscreen for daytime markets.
>> Bring small denominations of cash to minimize making change.
>> Unless you’re buying a big quantity of an item or arranged for a price ahead of time, don’t bargain. It puts a vendor in an awkward position if other customers are around. Besides, would you bargain in a supermarket for your food? Don’t forget, you’re supporting the farmer and his family, not just getting yourself fresh produce.
>> Early shoppers get the prime picks but there’s usually plenty of great fresh produce for everyone. If you miss out on a particular item, try something different.
>> Give farmers and vendors feedback. Most enjoy hearing that you like what they produce and will be concerned if you don’t.
>> Make time for shopping. Enjoy the outdoor venue, the hustle and bustle of the crowds, the aroma of food cooking, the abundance of fresh produce and the conversation with vendors and friends; the experience is well worth your time.
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Joan Namokoong, Special to the Star-Advertiser
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Every farmers market has a different feel or philosophy, as well as varying price points.
Some, like the large-scale Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation markets, feature only products grown in Hawaii, often at premium prices, while others, such as the city-run open market and Mahiku markets, feature both locally grown and imported products at lower prices. Some, like the one in Waialua, are run by a cooperative, while other small, weekly markets may take place in space such as a church parking lot.
The farm bureau launched its first farmers market Saturday mornings at KCC nine years ago. It has since expanded to include local beef, seafood, handmade pasta and a higher ratio of prepared foods. Today, at three of the bureau’s markets, prepared-food vendors make up about 50 percent of the sellers, said farm bureau President Dean Okimoto.
The Tuesday market at KCC is a three-month pilot to accommodate customers who stopped going to the Saturday market because it was too crowded.
"It was really relaxed," Okimoto said of the new market. "The people that came really enjoyed it and we’re looking for it to grow."
Okimoto estimated some 1,000 shoppers visited the more than 30 vendors. He expects to add another 10 in coming weeks, with more exotic fruits added to the mix.
The Saturday market, by contrast, gets 6,000 to 8,000 shoppers, including busloads of tourists, and features 65 to 70 vendors.
With the new market, the bureau offers five farmers markets throughout the week on Oahu. All sell strictly Hawaii-raised meat and produce.
Pamela Boyar and Annie Suite are also careful to feature just locally raised food at the markets they run in Hawaii Kai and Ala Moana, and they maintained that policy at the just-discontinued Hale‘iwa Farmers’ Market.
Vendors include small farmers as well as local food manufacturers and artisans. Their prepared-food vendors showcase how local products can be used.
Their markets typically feature about 50 vendors who sell everything from crepes to taro, smoked fish to baked goods, and gourmet Hawaiian salt to dog biscuits. Some vendors even sell art.
Sometimes the duo tie in market days with festivals celebrating a local product, such as taro or cacao, complete with farm tours and recipe contests.
The Ala Moana market, launched in September on the upper deck of Ala Moana Center near Sears, has become a popular draw.
"Our markets are about community," said Boyar. "It’s a place for people to gather."
Their popular Hale‘iwa Farmers’ Market held its last sale June 10 after Gov. Neil Abercrombie ordered it shut down because vending is prohibited at its site, the junction of Kamehameha Highway and Joseph P. Leong Highway.
Boyar and Suite ran the market for three years at the North Shore site, but were asked by the state to vacate in April, although they were given a few more weeks to use the site while seeking a new location.
"We have and will continue to search for a new home for the Hale‘iwa Farmers’ Market. Our vendor family adores HFM, and we are extremely motivated to re-open so they can continue to pay their bills and feed their families," said Suite. "The North Shore community has come to depend on HFM as part of its weekly Sunday ritual. … We hope our continued efforts will show results soon, so we can all get back on track and enjoy our new home."
For nearly a year, the Kakaako Makai Marketplace, which made its debut last summer, featured about 50 vendors at the corner of Ilalo and Ahui streets.
The market is on hiatus due to changes in land ownership, according to manager Juanita Kawamoto Brown, but it will likely return later this year.
Besides selling produce, the market offered Hawaiian language and hula classes as well as space for nonprofits to set up tables.
"Our market was intended to bring more of the Hawaiian community together," she said. "Ag is a big part of our community."
Mahiku Farm also has been expanding its markets and now has five locations: International Marketplace and Kings’ Village in Waikiki, Ben Parker Elementary School in Kaneohe, Ewa Beach Elementary and Kailua Elementary.
Mahiku farmers markets sell produce from Mahiku Farm in Waimanalo as well as food grown by small farmers who are of mostly Thai and Laotian descent, said spokesman Sonny Doung.
The market also offers some products that aren’t Hawaii grown, such as garlic and oranges, for customers who request them, he said. Local crafts, prepared food and flowers are also sold.
"We’re just trying to bring convenience," Doung said.
The Kailua market, which runs 4 to 8 p.m. Saturdays, launched a month ago and has been well received.
Markets in general have "really taken off," said the farm bureau’s Okimoto.
"People truly are trying to eat more local. I think they understand supporting local businesses helps everybody."
