About The Locavore Store
Phone: (808) 965-2372
Our Story
It all began in the Koa‘e community on the east side of Hawai‘i Island. Our homesteading and farming neighbors were finding that after their orchards and gardens had fed their families and friends, they still had leftovers that were turning into compost. And, as wonderful as compost is, it was a shame to watch all that delicious, naturally-grown food rot in the compost bin. Why not just take the abundance and sell it?
Unfortunately, the inconsistent surplus from just one family wasn't quite enough to make it worth establishing an account with a local store or paying for a booth at one of the local farmers' markets and haggling with customers for hours. Over the course of a week, we heard this complaint from a few different neighbors, and a light bulb came on. With everyone having the same need and constraints, how could we create a solution for everyone, from everyone? This was our answer…
2010 - Koa'e Farmers' Collective
On October 29th, we made our first appearance as the Koa'e Famers' Collective at the S.P.A.C.E. Farmers' Market in Seaview. Every Saturday morning, seven of our tucked-away neighbors would set out boxes and crates of produce for us to pick up on our way to the market. We paid the fees, set up, and had a blast slinging produce. With an abundance of colorful, delicious fruit spilling from our table — liliko‘i, grapefruit, ‘ulu, tangerines, rollinia, limes, abiu, vanilla beans, and more — we received ""Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" all day, along with the unsurprising, "What is that?!". When it all was over, we broke down the setup and each farm's sales. We took a commission to cover our time, fees, and gas, and everything else went back to the grower. In the same fashion as the morning pick-up, we dropped off leftovers and containers and distributed payments. It was a smashing success.
2011 - Harvest! Puna Makai
In October 2011, we began sharing the abundance at Uncle Robert's Wednesday Night Market in Kalapana while also maintaining a steady presence at the Seaview Market. Between Kalapana and Seaview, we grew a great and loyal customer base while adding to our network of farms and growers. We began calling the operation "Harvest! Puna Makai" to better reflect the wider area represented by our market offerings.
2012 - Centralizing
In June, we jumped on a sudden opportunity to rent an outdoor market area in downtown Pahoa adding a third venue to our weekly market rotation. At the end of the year, we decided to consolidate operations to one full-time location, at our new, central downtown market. It wasn’t long before we added a whole nursery of exotic fruit trees and garden starts to our lovely outdoor space, and got approved asofficial SNAP/EBT retailers. This allowed members of our community who participated in SNAP (formerly the Food Stamps program), to use their benefits to purchase the locally-grown foods and food-producing plants we offered.
2013 - Opening our doors
In August 2013, we made our most significant transition to date: moving into an actual brick-and-mortar storefront! Incredibly enough, a building opened up just two doors down from our outdoor market space in downtown Pahoa. Not being ones to waste much time, we jumped on it, got our lease, and spent the last week of July making ourselves at home in our very own store, complete with walls, a door, electricity…everything! We opened for the very first time as The Locavore Store on Monday, August 5, 2013.
2014 - An unexpected shift
2014 brought a special guest to Pahoa Town. In the months following the June 27th Flow from the Kīlauea Crater, we watched in dread as a river of lava inched closer and closer to our main street and our only major highway. The threat to essential utilities and supply lines prompted more and more folks to start packing and relocating. Over the weekend of October 25 and 26, the flow advanced over 1200 yards, coming within a few hundred feet of our main street and the town's main power lines. After that, The Locavore Store reluctantly closed its Pahoa store doors on October 31st
Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of The Locavore Store. Not even two weeks later, we got the keys to a beautiful space in downtown Hilo, with an ocean view on Bayfront’s historic Kamehameha Ave. On December 8, 2014, we re-opened our doors in our new neighborhood.
2023 - New location
Since then, we've made ourselves at home in our new and improved location. With more square feet and a central location, we're adding new farms and products every week. While it's not our beloved Pahoa, we've gotten a pretty sweet ocean view and some parking in the trade-off. We are thrilled our Pahoa customers are rolling us into their Hilo trips. With our more extensive selection, there are more goods and groceries to choose from than ever. We continue to expand and work with more farmers, gardeners, families, and friends. It is rewarding to know that we've created a win-win-win. Our farmers can earn an income doing what they love. At the same time, our family is supported by providing this service to our neighbors. And the larger community has access to fresh, seasonal, locally-grown food and quality products that nourish their families and our local economy.”