A new farmers market at Aloha Tower Marketplace debuted Aug. 5, and it will be adding to its offerings now that Hawaii Pacific University students have settled into their dorms at the location.
“It’s going really good,” said Kacey Robello, coordinator for the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, the nonprofit agricultural organization that stages several farmers markets around Oahu.
In addition to the student population, the market has been drawing customers who live in nearby condos and work downtown.
“It’s been really great and HPU has been so supportive,” Robello said.
The list of vendors is fluid from week to week, depending on growing seasons, Robello said.
The federation’s farmers market webpage offers a new tip sheet with an updated vendors list each week.
“Small Kine Farm has an abundance of mushrooms right now,” she noted, so the federation works to support it and other farms whose owners don’t want their crops to go to waste.
Two new farms recently added to the Aloha Tower market are Lei Farms and Ed’s Little Farm. Both carry a large variety of fruits and vegetables, Robello said — citing the newly trendy tropical fruits mangosteen and sugar apples.
There is live music at the Friday market, and many vendors offer ready-to-eat food for sale, from hot meals to sweet treats, including Cold Fyyre ice cream, which is made using locally sourced ingredients such as Kula strawberries and Maui-grown mint.
In addition to edibles, some farmers market vendors offer potted, flowering plants and ornamentals. Once Again, a Waimanalo-based nursery, also sells microgardens featuring succulents planted in repurposed vessels, from eggshells to Spam cans to ornate teacups and wine bottles. (Crafters are not among the vendors at Hawaii Farm Bureau farm fairs, because the organization’s mission is to support local agriculture.)
The farmers market offers several free parking options including two hours of free validation at Aloha Tower Marketplace, free parking after 5 p.m. in the Pier 10 parking structure and free validated parking in the Hawaiian Electric Co. lot.
“You work hard in creating the atmosphere, and the farmers are right there in front of that clock; it’s just beautiful,” Robello said. “This one has been just perfect.”
LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCE
Oahu residents have several options to find produce that is 100 percent grown in Hawaii, as screened by the Hawaii Farm Bureau-sanctioned farmers markets on Oahu:
>> Aloha Tower Marketplace, 4-7 p.m. Fridays
>> Kapiolani Community College, 7:30-11 a.m. Saturdays and 4-7 p.m. Tuesdays
>> Mililani High School, 8-11 a.m. Sundays
>> Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall, 4-7 p.m. Wednesdays
>> Kailua, 609 Kailua Road, 5-7:30 p.m. Thursdays
>> Haleiwa, North Shore Market Place, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays
INFO
Vendors schedule: hfbf.org/market
