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The folks at the Hilo Coffee Mill farmer's market are pretty adamant about locally produced food. Also, if you get to know a few farmers and ranchers you can get local foods directly from them. I have a local source for eggs, greens, beef and lamb, if you ever get out to this side of Hilo. They generally have enough to sell to another person, but they are a very small scale operation. The folks with frozen beef and lamb (locally grown and processed by Kulana) would be able to deliver to Hilo on occasion, but the eggs and greens person - who might have some tilapia at some point soon - doesn't get into town all that often. I also know some beekeepers who sell honey.
Oh, there's a fellow who's got sweet potatoes up over your way, OpenD. He might also have some taro, too. And either ducks (live) or duck eggs, if you'd like some of those.
On Oahu, I'm not sure how you would connect with the folks who actually produce the food. On the other islands, it's pretty easy to find someone who is actually growing or producing the food.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again....go to the local bookstore, or go online at Amazon, and get (or order) the book, "So you want to Live in Hawaii" by Toni Polancy. It will be your bible of survival. Read it front to back, and then read it a second time. This book will prepare you in so many ways of what it's going to be like living there. It even covers pet quarantine issues.
Good luck on your move from Texas. If you plan your move instead of "jumping in", you'll be all set, and will hopefully live a long time over there. :-) I wish you the best!
I appreciate the recommendation but I am well beyond that book. It was an interesting flip-through book but it didn't give me info that I didn't already get from being a lurker on this forum. I wouldn't read that book cover to cover because I wouldn't trust it over the advice I get from posters here.
Also, I didn't need to read the book to know about Hawai'i's strict regulations on bringing pets to the island. I got that all done and my cat was ready to leave, with no risk of quarantine, last December
If you were saying this to someone who hasn't been lurking on this forum almost everyday for the past year, it would be useful.
I try to ask myself "Did I cover all my bases" or "Is there anything I'd like to know more about" so I can ask specific questions so I'm not such a nuisance
@OpenD: Thank you for those links! I will be sure to read them and save them for future reference! I did read somewhere about the species of fish that one should probably entirely avoid >_>
And I will try to remember to double check where my food comes from. I don't want to be a naive consumer when it comes to farmer's markets. I know if you hadn't said anything I would have trusted that anyone with a stall at a farmer's market is selling the produce they grew themselves.
@hotzcatz: sounds like you've got a pretty sweet set up!
I can view the weekly ads for Times Supermarket, Foodland, Safeway, and Walmart online so I can get a good idea for food prices (at least for those stores). I've heard talk/seen ads that show loaves of bread to be around $3. Are there local bakeries that might be a better alternative? Like, buying produce from a farmer's market vs. buying produce from Safeway?
I can view the weekly ads for Times Supermarket, Foodland, Safeway, and Walmart online so I can get a good idea for food prices (at least for those stores). I've heard talk/seen ads that show loaves of bread to be around $3. Are there local bakeries that might be a better alternative? Like, buying produce from a farmer's market vs. buying produce from Safeway?
For Oahu the Star-Advertiser is the paper. For Big Island it's the Tribune-Herald. Both have web sites.
All I'll say is, I wish I could reliably buy decent bread for $3 here. $4.89 a loaf regularly, on sale for $3.99 is more like it. And local bakeries are selling quality, not price, so $6 a loaf is not unusual. Saw some nice looking bread at the Farmers Market today for $5 a loaf, for the plain white and wheat. Fancier types were $6 & $7.
And since wheat prices have doubled this year on the global commodities market, I don't expect prices to come down. I'd be happy to have them stay flat for a while.
If you eat much bread, the cost of a bread machine can be cost-justified fairly quickly.
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