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By unanimous U.S. Senate resolution, next week is National Hawaiian Foods Week throughout the land.
Introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii and co-sponsored by Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Georgia Republicans Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, Senate Resolution 416 is intended to honor Hawaii’s contributions to the culinary heritage of the United States and raise awareness of Hawaii food.
The resolution states that Hawaii’s cuisine is characterized by a unique fusion of flavors from French Polynesia, China, Japan, Portugal, Korea, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa and elsewhere.
The forces behind National Hawaiian Foods Week are the brands King’s Hawaiian, Dole, Mauna Loa, Kona Brewing Co. and Spam, which are participating in grocery store promotions.
A website created for the week — hawaiianfoodsweek.com — went live June 1 with information, recipes and a contest offering the prize of a trip to the islands for the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival.
By the way, in case you were wondering why two senators from Georgia were involved in this resolution: King’s Hawaiian, founded in Hilo in 1950, has bakeries in California and, since 2011, also in Georgia.