{"id":239532,"date":"2026-08-25T10:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T20:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=239532"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:33:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T21:33:47","slug":"harvest-to-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/25\/harvest-to-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Molokaʻi food security increases with ‘Harvest to Market’"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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CTAHR<\/abbr>\u2019s Harvest to Market teaches people how to grow fruits and vegetables and then prepare them for sale, including following food safety regulations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the success of the “Seed to Harvest<\/a>” farming initiative, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a> (CTAHR<\/abbr>) is expanding its work to boost food security and entrepreneurship on Molokaʻi<\/span> with “Harvest to Market.” It\u2019s the next step for Friendly Isle home gardeners transitioning from backyard gardening to being part of the local agricultural economy.<\/p>\n

Seed to Harvest was created last year by Molokaʻi-based<\/span> CTAHR<\/abbr> Extension agents Kyle Franks and Jennifer Hawkins and funded by a 2025 County of Maui grant. The program recently graduated its third group of backyard farmers who have grown hundreds of pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs using on-island resources.<\/p>\n

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Community members on Molokaʻi<\/span> grew several hundred pounds of cabbage and then learned how to market and sell their produce.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Business of backyard farming<\/h2>\n

Harvest to Market shifts focus toward the business and entrepreneurial side of agriculture; it’s designed for home gardeners with extra produce, immersing them in marketing, pricing, budgeting and production schedules. A new opportunity emerged as the group gained confidence and grew more than one hundred pounds of cabbage.<\/p>\n

“Our growers are doing a great job, but now they have excess,” said Franks. “So the next step is helping them get their produce to market.”<\/p>\n

People are learning how to transform backyard fruits and vegetables into value-added goods—such as artisanal jams, jellies or freeze-dried items—that can be sold at local farmers’ markets. Franks and Hawkins guide growers through state regulatory frameworks to ensure all fresh and processed food sales comply with state health and food safety laws.<\/p>\n

Overcoming barriers, building resilience<\/h2>\n

“Finances and food safety can be intimidating, and is where people usually just say, okay, I’m just going to do this subsistence, or I’m going to barter,” Hawkins said. “Having the resources and knowing the right people to come in makes a huge difference in the outcome of individuals and their comfort level.”<\/p>\n

By giving residents the skills to cultivate food and the business acumen to sell it, CTAHR<\/abbr> continues to tackle food inequity, reduce reliance on expensive imports, and foster a highly resilient community on Molokaʻi.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harvest to Market teaches the business and entrepreneurial side of agriculture; it\u2019s for home gardeners who want to sell their produce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":239540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[212,265,432,9],"class_list":["post-239532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-cooperative-extension-service","tag-tropical-plant-and-soil-sciences","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