Island Farmer’s Market

Hawaii Farm Bureau has several markets, Saturday morning is at Kapiolani Community College, which is within walking distance from my Grandma’s house. Well, she’s not alive anymore, but somehow in my head it’s still Grandma’s house. And it’s actually not very far at all to KCC, but I don’t think I’d ever been over there in all the times of visiting Grandma. Anyway, we just saw an edge of the campus on the way to the market, including a very cool cactus and cactusy things garden. Looks like a nice campus, and rather extensive.

The market officially opens at 7:30, although apparently you can start shopping and reserve things starting at 7. But you can’t actually buy them until 7:30. It was a bit after 7:30 when we arrived, and things looked to be in pretty full swing. There were a couple of officers directing traffic – car and pedestrian – and a bus load of Japanese tourists was being disgorged on the other side of the market. By the time we left a bit after 8 it had gotten even more crowded.

About sixty or so (no I didn’t count, and I’m not so good at estimating these sorts of things, although sometimes I try to practice. I’m looking at the Market Tip Sheet for the week) vendors, arranged in several rows in one of the college’s parking lots, if you didn’t stop and get anything you could probably walk by everything in 10-15 minutes. But then what’s the point of going to a Farmer’s Market?

I don’t know if there’s a particular ratio of straight produce to other vendors that markets aim for. This one seemed to have slightly higher of others than I feel like there are at mainland markets I’ve been to. But it may be that I haven’t paid as much attention or that mainland markets are more arranged by category and I just stay in the produce or just that there are probably less produce producers here on an island.

But there were some really nice looking veggies, I did spy some kale and other greens. There was also corn on the cob! from a couple different spots on the island. And nice looking fruit, including the round avocados. Honey, coffee, baked goods and other prepared foods, super beautiful flowers. Some of the stands had signs bilingual in Japanese and some of the vendors with non-perishables had multi-pack smaller size aimed at the omiyage market.

The big lines were at some of the prepared foods booths – abalone, fried green tomatoes, sausage. I was quite tempted by the roasted or french fried sweet potatoes, but passed it up. I did end up getting some (uncooked) Okinawan sweet potatoes from one of the produce vendors. And I couldn’t pass up a loaf of Hawaiian Sweet Bread. (Bread singular, not breads plural.) Yummy! It was formed as an 8-piece pull apart (1 central and 7 surrounding), which was fun.

They also do Tuesday evening at KCC, although I don’t think they’ll be there this week. But I will be here through another Saturday. I might try to get there a little earlier if I go again.

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