Discover wagon tours, farm fresh food at Kahuku Farms

For more than 100 years, the Matsuda and Fukuyama families have been farming on 125 acres of Oahu’s North Shore. In October of 2010, fourth-generation farmer Kylie Matsuda-Lum and her husband, Judah Lum, sectioned off the front five acres of the family farm to open Kahuku Farms as an educational and value-adding component to the business.

There they offer tractor-pulled wagon tours for students, visitors and locals who want to learn more about agriculture in Hawaii. A cafe serves food made fresh from the farm. Gravel paths allow for self-guided walking tours so visitors can observe plants at their own pace and at no cost.

Commercially the farm sells apple bananas, papayas, long eggplants and luau leaves to stores around the island, but many fruits and vegetables are grown just for the cafe, including lettuce, kale, lemons, limes, starfruit, guava, dragon fruit, mangoes and avocados. With education as a focus, the Lums have planted many fruits and vegetables in the farm just so visitors can see what they look like and how they grow.

“It is a big part of why we opened Kahuku Farms, because we found there was so many children that think a banana comes from Costco,” Matsuda-Lum said.

The tractor-pulled wagon tours give visitors a chance to see the fruits and vegetables growing on the farm. A 30-minute smoothie tour highlights apple bananas and papayas, as well as the warehouse where produce is packaged and the kitchen where lilikoi butter and jellies are made. An hour-long grand tour ventures deeper into the commercial fields and makes a stop at the kitchen and warehouse to show what it takes for farmers to put fresh produce on supermarket shelves.

The cafe provides a way to add value and diversify the farm. Menu items feature ingredients fresh from the farm, including iced teas, smoothies, sorbets, soups, salads, sandwiches and pizzas.

The cafe allows the farm to make use of off-grade bananas that are perfect on the inside but may be bruised or blemished on the outside. Stores won’t buy them, but instead of going to waste, these off-grade bananas are used in smoothies and banana bread. The same concept is used for the papayas that won’t sell and eggplants that are used in other menu items, including the grilled veggie panini, grilled veggie salad and farm pizza.

Because the North Shore is known for its food and flavors, Lum didn’t know what to expect when they revealed their meatless menu to the public, but he said the people who live in the area have responded well.

“I think a lot of the choices out here are very tasty but they’re not the healthiest for you; you know butter and shellfish are two things that people come out here to do but there’s a lot of people who aren’t into that,” Lum said.

After four years of being in operation, the tours and cafe have increasingly gained attention, which Lum credits to those in the Kahuku community. People drive up from Hawaii Kai for the fresh paninis, he said.

“That means a lot to us, especially the fact that sometimes when they come we’re sold out and so it’s very disappointing but at the same time it means our food has gotten a lot of awareness because it tastes good and it’s good for you,” Lum said. “And as you guys know we’re practically another island. It takes an hour to get here no matter where you are and so it’s an investment in time and in gas to get out here.”

In February, Kahuku Farms launched a service learning program, inviting the public for hands-on activities at the farm on Sunday mornings. The Lums have chosen to transition the five-acre operation into a certified organic farm, meaning they’re committed to stopping use of all chemical herbicides and fertilizers — and with that, more labor is necessary.

“Now instead of spraying herbicide on weeds to manicure the area you physically need to do it with mechanics,” Lum said. “Because of this we like to engage the people who are interested in different ways to grow food and invite them out to help us out.”

Activities during these service learning programs include planting, maintenance, weed control and raking.

“I think people today have a very privileged way to survive where a lot of us aren’t responsible for taking care of the plants and animals that we need to survive,” Lum said. “A lot of us are very (detached) from the actual energy and the money that’s necessary to provide food on a large scale.”

At the farm, people can learn a little more about how much time, energy and skill is required to get fruits and vegetables onto grocery store shelves.

“I think that’s the main reason we want to educate people because once they do make the connection of how much is invested by these people that are providing food for them, it does give them some interest and support in not only the farmer, but just brings the awareness of how important it is to support people that are in business locally,” Lum said.

According to Matsuda-Lum, it took about five years to open Kahuku Farms to the public, since agricultural tourism is relatively new to Hawaii. The cafe opened with only Kylie, her sister Kalyn Matsuda and Judah working in the kitchen, and it has since expanded to allow the Lums to employ more people from the community.

Matsuda-Lum hopes to add more activities and to welcome more local students to learn at the farm.

“We feel that it’s so important to work — children and adults to come and see what goes on at a farm. So every time someone does come they do walk away with a better appreciation for farming and the food they eat, so just really spreading the word about what we’re doing.”

For Lum, the work they do is more than just farming — it’s building a legacy.

“I’m so privileged to be involved in a family that’s been doing this for a long time successfully, so for me what keeps me going is putting my energy into something that will be here when I’m gone,” Lum said.