ʻUmeke ʻAi O Waimea Nui
“The food calabash of Waimea Nui”
ʻUmeke ʻAi is a program developed during this COVID-19 pandemic. Waimea Nui is made up of many small farmers, ranchers and fisherman that have been drastically affected financially by the shut down and stay home orders of the State. Keeping these farmers, ranchers and fisherman has been the priority. Providing an “Umeke ‘Ai” or Food Basket of staple foods for our needy native population of 9,000 has become the secondary objective of the program, and finally, opening up the program to residents in the geographical areas of Waimea Nui, Kawaihae and Kohala.
Every Saturday morning (8 weeks increments) at Kuhio Hale Hall from 8 am to 12. The pick-up point and times will be in conjunction with the Kuhio Hale Homestead farmer’s market on the lānai and additional produce will be made available for purchase at the market.
This program is being coordinated by WHHAI under the Waimea Nui Organization and the many Native Hawaiian volunteers of the Waimea Nui Region. Funding has been made available for this program by WHHAI, the Dorrance Foundation, Richard Smart Foundation and the Omidyar Foundation.
Update:
Mahalo to all our farmers and the Umeke Volunteers that kept this program going for 3 years 2019-2022!