{"id":217622,"date":"2025-06-18T13:29:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T23:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=217622"},"modified":"2025-06-19T08:50:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T18:50:30","slug":"how-co-ops-are-feeding-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/18\/how-co-ops-are-feeding-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"How co-ops are feeding Hawai\u02bbi, 糖心视频<\/abbr> hosts first ever gathering of cooperatives"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Four
Cooperative gathering event hosted by 糖心视频<\/abbr>\u02bbs Ke \u014c Mau Center for Sustainable Food Systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What if businesses were built not just to profit, but to empower people and communities? That was the driving spirit behind Hawaiʻi<\/span>\u2019s first statewide cooperative business gathering, hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span>\u2019s Ke \u014c Mau Center for Sustainable Food Systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More than 40 cooperative ventures, many focused on agriculture, came together in a first-of-its-kind convening. A collaborative effort between Enlivened Cooperative, Purple Maiʻa<\/span>, Kauaʻi<\/span> Credit Union and 糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a> helped organize the event to spotlight a powerful, but often overlooked, part of the state\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Starting small, growing great<\/h2>\n
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“Cooperation Works!” event pins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A standout example is the Hawaiʻi<\/span> ʻUlu<\/span> Producers Cooperative. Since launching in 2015 with just nine members, it has grown to nearly 200 farmer-owners cultivating more than 600,000 pounds of breadfruit and other crops annually. The cooperative\u2019s success shows how they can achieve what individual farmers often cannot: shared infrastructure, larger markets and collective impact.<\/p>\n

“For emerging crops such as breadfruit that are grown primarily by small farmers, the cooperative model offers an unmatched tool for industry development and economic viability that is equitable and just,” said Dana Shapiro, CEO<\/abbr> of the ʻulu<\/span> cooperative. “Co-ops offer small Hawaiʻi<\/span> farmers solutions for scaling and success.”<\/p>\n

Shared challenges, building momentum<\/h2>\n

Noa Lincoln, a professor of Indigenous crops and cropping systems<\/a> at CTAHR<\/abbr>, is co-director of the Ke \u014c Mau Center and believes this approach embodies 糖心视频<\/abbr>\u2019s goal of becoming a Native Hawaiian place of learning.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s more than just language or traditions. It’s about truly bringing forward Hawaiian values and actions into our modern society,” Lincoln said. “I think there’s a responsibility for the university to be involved in this type of work.”<\/p>\n

The event gave cooperatives a rare chance to connect, share successes and challenges, and build momentum for long-term growth.<\/p>\n

“Particularly with our Indigenous crops, which shouldn\u2019t be owned or dominated by any one company, I think cooperative business structures provide an excellent opportunity for scaling local food production in Hawaiʻi<\/span>,” Lincoln said.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait
Cooperative gathering attendees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CTAHR<\/abbr> Professor Noa Lincoln helped organize an inaugural event that brought together more than 40 cooperative ventures, many focused on agriculture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[212,9],"class_list":["post-217622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t