Nourish Your Neighbor Food Drive & Volunteer Opportunity

In celebration of National Food Day, Blue Zones Project^® is organizing a "Nourish Your Neighbor" Food Drive from October 10 - October 24, in support of Hawaii Island families in need. 

To contribute to this worthy cause, you may make a non-perishable food donation based on the food list below or simply volunteer a few hours of your time. We hope you'll join us for this opportunity to come together, support a worthy cause, and collect and distribute healthier food options to Hawaii Island families in need. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email bluezonesprojecteasthawaii@healthways.com or call (808) 756-5772. 

More than 70 Blue Zones Project volunteers came together on Saturday, September 17, to build its first community garden in East Hawaii, in partnership with Ho'ola Farms. Volunteers of all ages enjoyed a fun, rewarding, and educational day of service that was rooted in Native Hawaiian culture and centered around malama aina (caring for the land). Participants learned modern and traditional gardening practices and helped to build raised garden beds. This keiki-friendly healing garden was fun for the whole family. They even took a little hike to a scenic lookout after building the community garden. 

Special mahalo to Emily and John Emmons from Ho`ola Farms, Sweet Cane Cafe for the wonderful refreshments, our gardeners Bill Miller and Russell Nagata, Honsador and HPM for providing supplies, and our aweseome Blue Zones Project volunteers and 'ohana for contributing your time, talent, and muscles to this great community effort!

Did you know that volunteers live longer and are happier? Volunteering is a rewarding way to make a difference in our community! If you missed the opportunity to contribute to the community garden, please consider offering a couple hours of your time at these upcoming volunteer events: 

KTA Approval Celebration!

Congratulations to KTA Puainako for being the FIRST Blue Zones Project Approved™ grocery store in East Hawaii! To recognize their achievement, KTA held a Customer Appreciation Day on September 10, where guests enjoyed free food samples and natural movement activities. 

The Blue Zones Project^® checkout lane is one of several actions that KTA Puainako completed to become Blue Zones Project Approved. Rather than candy bars and sugar-laden beverages typically found near the register, KTA's new Blue Zones Project checkout lane displays healthy grab-and-go snacks like fresh fruit, nuts and granola bars, and healthier drink options.

Other health conscious changes include signage to highlight locally grown produce and foods that meet the Blue Zones Food Guidelines, half sandwiches in the deli, and labels featuring the number of serving sizes for fresh cut fruit and salads. The store also started a popular “Quick & Ono” lunch special every Wednesday with Blue Zones inspired recipes, and installed parking signs in distant stalls that encourage patrons to park farther from the store and walk, in order to incorporate more natural movement in their day.

"We've partnered with Blue Zones Project to make healthy choices easier for our customers,” said Puainako Store Director, Sanford Toma. “That means highlighting healthy food items throughout the store and even creating a new Blue Zones Project checkout lane that makes healthy food easier to find for you and your 'ohana. Together, we can live a longer, healthier and happier life."  

Be sure to stop by KTA to take advantage of all the healthy changes they've implemented for their customers and community!

Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary Celebrates Blue Zones Approval with Family Fun Day

Chiefess Kapiolani Elementary School was recently recognized as the FIRST Blue Zones Project Approved™ school in the entire state of Hawaii! To celebrate this accomplishment, Chiefess Kapiolani held their first annual Health and Family Fun Day on Saturday, August 27. 

The community enjoyed cooking demonstrations with awesome food samples, gardening activities, the Blue Zones Project smoothie bike, health screenings, a photo booth and more! Chiefess Kapiolani has embraced the Power 9^® principles of health and well-being, particularly “Move Naturally,” “Plant Slant,” and "Family First." In addition to their Health and Family-Fun Day, they have implemented a Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program, and the school is committed to having 100% of students start their day with physical movement activities. Research has proven that children who have physical activity first thing in the morning are more alert and ready to engage in classroom learning. Congratulations again to Chiefess Kapiolani for leading the way in improving the health and well-being of our keiki and community!

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Hawaii First Federal Credit Union Embraces Blue Zones Project Principles

Hawaii First Federal Credit Union is making great strides in completing pledge action items towards becoming a Blue Zones Project Approved worksite. They've created a worksite wellness program called "WELLth" to help encourage health and well-being among its employees. As part of their WELLth program, Hawaii First celebrated an Employee Appreciation Day with a Blue Zones Power of Purpose Workshop and a game of "pay it forward." 

After they discovered their gifts and talents at the Purpose Workshop, teams visited random areas around East Hawaii and did thoughtful gestures for complete strangers. They then encouraged recipients to continue the random acts of kindness, triggering a chain of positive events in our community. Mahalo to Hawaii First for their commitment to employee well-being and strengthening the aloha in our community! 

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Pahoa residents participated in a series of well-being events hosted by Blue Zones Project. On July 10, a great crowd came out for a healthy cooking demonstration by Malu Miki of Abundant Life Natural Foods. Malu's simple recipes packed a delicious punch of nutrients! Chef Malu created a beautiful kale salad, served with marinated tempeh and brown rice. Malu's demonstrations are full of health tips and nutritional information that attendees find very valuable. From the different types of salts available and which are best for you to how kale should be massaged or tenderized before eaten—attendees were fascinated with the abundance of information and were impressed with how delicious simple ingredients can be. Most guests came up for seconds and resident Theresa Zendejas of Pahoa expressed that she wished she had participated with Blue Zones sooner! Looking forward to seeing you and your neighbors at the next event, Theresa!

On August 10, Master Gardener Bill Miller hosted a Gardening Demonstration in Pahoa, where residents learned how to build raised garden beds and how to address common garden pests. Bill also showed guests that starting a garden doesn't need to be expensive—just use your imagination. A raised garden can be started with common things that are often laying around our homes collecting dust. Bill showed guests how he created a raised garden with a recycled children's car. Bills gardening tips and tricks captivated his audience who were delighted to go home with starter plants for their own gardens. Ginger, green onion, green beans, sweet potato and bok choy now have a new home under the care of Bill's students.