Celebrating 6 Years of Cooperation!

July 2022 marks six years since Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative began serving Hawaiʻi farmers and communities.

In six years, we have grown our membership to 125 farmers on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui and Oʻahu, harvested over 966,500 lbs. of local produce, planted 5,500 ʻulu trees, and collectively manage 178 acres of breadfruit agroforestry.

Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative’s success over this period is directly linked to the cooperative model and its ability to balance local community ownership and long-term benefits with building a viable business.

Over the coming years, we strive to continue developing an economically-successful, social enterprise that can give back to the farmers, the community, and the ‘āina, while strengthening Hawaiʻi’s food system.

July 2021 to June 2022 Highlights:

July 2021

Celebrated 2021 Annual Member Meeting and 5-year Anniversary at the Alae Postharvest Facility in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island.

Hired first Director of Sales, Tamara Butterbaugh – previously of Mānoa Chocolate.

August 2021

Launched Recipe-Ready, Hawaiʻi-Grown Staples line in grocery stores statewide; partnered with Kapiʻolani Community College, 7-11 and Warabeya to offer ʻulu wagyu beef stew at 7-11 locations statewide.

September 2021

Awarded Value Added Producer Grant from USDA Rural Development to scale Hawaiʻi grown and milled ʻulu flour.

October 2021

National Farm to School Month celebrated in partnership with Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation and other community partners to host ʻulu cooking demos and distribute Kumu ʻUlu boxes and educational packets statewide.

In October, 2021 we also hired our first Farmer-Member Coordinator - Kyle Jackson.

November 2021

Launched a partnership to scale ʻUlu Agroforestry in Hawaiʻi with Propagate and OK Farms