KAHUMANA KITCHEN

Kahumana Kitchen is an integral part of our non-profit mission to provide services to homeless families, people with disabilities and youth. The Kitchen began as an opportunity for training as a part of our work force development program at our original home at 'Ulu Ke Kukui. We have since moved to a new facility at Kulia I Ka Nu’u Resource Center in Waianae where we continue to provide services for both our CACFP partners and providing training opportunities. The core service that the Kitchen provides is making meals for keiki through approved Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) such as Head Start, YMCA and other school partner programs.

Employees and program participants gain valuable experience and training in food service, food safety and handling, processing local produce, and working as a part of efficient team. Kahumana Kitchen is dedicated to sourcing as much local produce as is allowed within the strict limitations of the USDA. This can be a challenging endeavor that is made possible by the network of farmers and Food Hubs that Kahumana has established. Having a commercial kitchen as apart of our Food Hub is integral to the forward progress of our mission to create a more sustainable food system for Hawaii.

Kahumana Kitchen also makes minimally processed products from locally sourced produce. As Hawaii moves in the direction of creating more sustainable food systems, the importance of minimally processed produce will become vital in making these products easy to use and accessible. Minimally processing also helps farmers create a market for off grade fruits and vegetables that would normally go to waste. Kahumana Food Hub recently became a member of the Hawaii 'Ulu Coop and is the Oahu processing partner and provides another avenue of training for our Kitchen crew.