2-2009: What are groceries prices like on Maui, now (Kahului: for sale, established neighborhood)

[Kapalua]

It has been a long time since I left Maui, November 8, 2009. Can someone tell me what the grocery prices are like on Maui. Gallon Milk, Gallon Distilled water, Tomatoes per pound, Bananas per pound, whole wheat bread, canned tomatoe paste, butter per pound, watermelon, cantaloupes, bag of oranges, frozen orange juice, potatoes per pound, stuff like that. I bet those Health Food stores are more expensive, if they still exists. How about Friskies canned 5.5 oz of cat food, and what is the gas per gallon. I wonda if anybody will answer me????? Mahalo, ( THank you )

[Kapalua]

Correction that was suppose to have read NOVMEBER 8, 1999, that is when we Left Maui

[MadRussian]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/hawai...maui-pics.html

[whynot?]

The Down to Earth store in Makawao closed last week after 17 years. Makawao Down to Earth closes its doors - Business News - Starbulletin.com

[hotzcatz]

These are tough questions and I'm on the Moku Nui (Big Island) but prices might be similar?

Gallon Milk,
Safeway around $7, I think. From KTA around $6

Gallon Distilled water,
Never buy the stuff, it's way too expensive when perfectly drinkable water comes out of the tap.

Tomatoes per pound,
Anywhere from $1.99 to $4.99 at KTA depending on quality. We don't buy them anyway since we have a small hydroponics system set up for tomatoes and lettuce.

Bananas per pound,
Haven't a clue, they fall off the tree.

whole wheat bread,
Somewhere just under $5 a loaf, I think. Foam bread (the basic white loaf) is just under $3 a loaf. We haven't had store baked bread in years and even quit buying flour, now we buy wheat and grind it since flour got expensive.

canned tomato paste,
Dunno, don't buy it, too expensive

butter per pound,
Dunno, about a year ago we bought a lot on sale and put it in the freezer and we are still working on that batch.

watermelon,
.49 to .59 cents per pound when it is on sale. I think I'll go plant some for next summer.

cantaloupes,
usually about ten cents more per pound than watermelon when it is on sale.

bag of oranges,
about a dollar a pound, I think, but they fall off of trees this time of year.

frozen orange juice,
Dunno, haven't bought any in years.

potatoes per pound,
five pound bag of potatoes is about $3.25 or so these days.

Friskies canned 5.5 oz of cat food,
Haven't a clue, our cat eats dry and is glad to get it.

gas per gallon.
Under $3 at the moment.

yellow onions are .99 a pound at KTA and .89 a pound at TKS and .79 a pound at the new J.J.s store in Honokaa so where you shop makes a difference.

[vanboingy]

Are there really just trees everywhere for you to pick fruit off of, or do you have all of these fruit trees on your own land?

[whynot?]

It's decidedly more pono to pick fruit from your own trees. Or get permission to pick. Much of the produce is grown for the owners' use, or for sale in markets or casually on the streets, so taking fruit is basically stealing. It happens, though.

[vanboingy]

Ok just clarifying, because saying it like that makes it sound like to cities or the state planted all sorts of fruit trees for people to just pluck a snack off of any time of day.

[Kapalua]

Sorry that I took so long to get back here. Thank you for letting me know. I know, that when I left Maui, Bananas were at Star Market in Kihei, on South Kihei Road, $1.29 per pound, this is in 1999, Long's Drug, on the same street, at Azeka's Mall, was much cheaper, 78 cents per pound. Tropicana Orange Juice, 1/2 gallon was $5 something. I remember buying cantaloupes, I would buy like 5 of them for $1.10 each back in 1997. Gallon of milk was $3.39 about that at Costco's in Kahului, in 1990's. ( Lots of stuff I just grew in the containters in the yard.

[hotzcatz]

Originally Posted by vanboingy

Are there really just trees everywhere for you to pick fruit off of, or do you have all of these fruit trees on your own land?

I like the idea of having the County plant fruit trees for everyone to pick from! It sure would be nice to have snacks along the sidewalks. They do plant a lot of coconut trees, but then someone has to go around taking all the coconuts off when the tree gets tall since folks don't seem to know enough not to sit under tall coconut trees anymore.

Most of the citrus, papayas and bananas belong to someone. There is generally "wild" guavas, avocados and coconuts which can be picked up here and there as well as several places to get bamboo shoots. Other than finding trees which don't belong to anyone, there are also a lot of folks who share with their friends and neighbors. When a bunch of bananas get ripe, that is a LOT of bananas and they generally get ripe all at once so we give a few hands of bananas to our neighbors and when theirs get ripe, they give some back. In an established neighborhood, there will generally be several big avocados, mountain apple and mangos with enough fruit for the owner to share with just about everyone who wants some. Generally when someone gives you permission to pick the fruit from their tree, it is considered nice to bring them something that you have extra of when it gets ripe in your yard.

Frequently asking for some of the fruit doesn't sound like it, either. Usually you will be chatting with the neighbor and the subject will come up - "my how pretty your orange tree looks this year" or "what a huge stalk of bananas from one small tree!" and then the owner of the fruit or fruit tree has the option to give you some if they have extra and they don't have to tell you "no" if the fruit is already destined for somewhere. Sometimes, especially in the middle of avocado season, fruit will just show up on your doorstep.

Lychee trees are in an entirely different category. They don't generally have fruit each year and it is expensive to buy so the owner of a lychee tree may want to pick and sell the fruit instead of giving it away. If they offer it is great, but asking them for free lychee puts them at a disadvantage since they may not want to give it away and nobody likes to refuse friends and neighbors. I suppose offering to buy the lychee would be okay since they could then sell it to you for a reduced price and still get some money so everyone would be happy.

Catching and eating wild pig is considered a community service since they are proliferating all over the place and dig up people's yards and gardens. They are also dangerous when they get larger, especially the boars with the tusks although I wouldn't want to mess with a large sow up close, either.