Local beef. It’s what’s for lunch at Hawaii public schools.
As of March 1, Kauai-based Kunoa Cattle Co. began supplying half the beef served in Oahu’s 168 public schools under a partnership with food distributor Y. Hata &Co. through the end of the year.
Kunoa announced the arrangement Wednesday, and said it follows an initial agreement in January to supply Kauai’s 15 public schools with all their beef needs.
The two additions mean that public schools statewide now serve at least some local beef in their meals. And a portion of that local beef, such as Kunoa’s, comes from grass-fed cattle.
The state Department of Education said it uses about 1 million pounds of beef in student meals annually throughout its 256 schools, and most of it is from animals raised locally.
On Maui, beef in public school meals is from Maui Cattle Co.
Molokai Livestock Co-op does the same for Molokai and Lanai schools.
Only Oahu and Hawaii island schools serve a portion of their beef not from local sources.
Hawaii island public schools receive only 100 percent of ground beef from Hawaii Beef Producers.
Kunoa is supplying ground beef on Oahu, and ground beef and stew beef on Kauai. The company expects it will deliver 35,000 to 45,000 pounds of beef per month to the schools for use in meals such as chili, spaghetti and sloppy joes.
“HIDOE’s partnership with our local ranchers such as Kunoa
Cattle Co. allows us to provide high-quality grass-fed beef to our students,” Dexter Kishida, farm-to-school coordinator for the department’s School Food Services Branch, said in a statement. “Supporting our local ranchers and farmers is a key goal of our ‘Aina Pono program and furthers our mission to feed our keiki healthy, nutritious, fresh food to achieve academic success.”
Kunoa’s arrangement with the department represents a new stage of expansion for the 5-year-old company that began by managing cattle for another livestock owner and three years ago bought Oahu’s only slaughterhouse.
Kunoa was co-founded by environmental investment consultant Jack Beuttell and third-generation Kauai rancher Bobby Farias.
Over the last three years, Kunoa expanded from managing 1,500 cattle on Kauai to about 2,000 animals. The company said it is in the process of doubling its herd so it can supply more grocery stores, restaurants and other customers.
“In 2019, we will see greatly expanded Kunoa product availability and partnerships throughout Hawaii,” Farias said in a statement.
Over the past year, Kunoa has hired more than 10 employees to bring its staff to 45. Recent additions include Bryan Mayer, a craft butcher business operator who was hired as Kunoa’s product director; Aaron Cates, former strategy and analytics director at Hawaii Gas who became Kunoa’s chief financial officer; and former Whole Foods Market manager Emi Kowalczyk, who is now Kunoa’s director of operations.
The company also said Farias stepped up from chief operating officer to president recently as Beuttell transitions out as CEO to focus on investor relationships and other partnerships.
