Saturday, October 29

2 - 5 p.m.

Kahilu Town Hall 
Across from Kahilu Theatre
67-1182 Lindsey Road, Hilo, Hawaii

Help us celebrate!  Enjoy live entertainment, FREE cooking demonstrations with Blue Zones inspired food samples, Keiki Zone fun, a Volunteer Fair, prizes, and so much more!

Enter to win a Fit Bike Desk top! You will get lots of chances to enter: sign our pledge, visit our volunteer fair, join a volunteer organization, see our cooking demo, take the North Hawaii Tour, bring your finished Solar Walk Passport

Join the movement! Learn how healthy choices are getting easier in North Hawaii, and how you and your organization can get involved! 

Interested in being a volunteer at the event?
If so, be sure to complete the volunteer section at the bottom of the RSVP form. We welcome any contributions of time and talent.

North Hawaii Communities are ROCKING IT!

Your North Hawaii Blue Zones Project Leads and committee members have been actively working to engage our community in the Blue Zones Project.  

Dena Smith Ellis, Org Lead has been working with deligently with worksites, grocery stores, restaurants and other organizations. She has done an amazing job by getting these Organizations to join the Blue Zones Project: K Takata Store,Kohala Coffee Mill, Kohala Grown Market, Kohala Unupa'a, Kohala Village HUB, Kohala Village HUB PUB, Kokolulu Farm and Cancer Retreats, Sushi Rock and Trio, Sweet Potato Kitchen, Cafe ILMondo, Hamakua Kohala Health Center, Sea Dandelion Cafe, The Exclusive Hawaii, The Exclusive Hawaii Kitchen, All Island Insurance Services LLC, Big Island Brewhaus, Cirque 'Ohana, Friends of Anuenue Playground, Hawaii First FCU North, Healthways II, KTA Super Stores-Waimea and Waikoloa, Kohala Coast Family Wellness, MacArthur Sotheby's International Realty, North Hawaii Community Hospital, North Hawaii Rotary Club, Pau Restaurant, Redwater Cafe, Starbucks Waimea, Tutu & Me North Hawaii, Under the Bodhi Tree Restaurant, Waimea Coffee Company, Island Harvest Inc, Spicy Ninja Sauce, Coast Grille at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Mauna Kea Resort, Tommy Bahama, Napua at the Mauna Lani Beach Club, Daylight Mind Coffee Company and Waikoloa Grand Vacation Resorts.

Through her hard work, she has helped and supported 7 Approved sites-Sea Dandelion Cafe, Big Island Brewhaus, KTA Waimea (as a grocery store and worksite), Kohala Coffee Mill, Under the Bodhi Tree, and Hawaii First FCU!

Carol Ignacio, Community Program Manager is working with our policy makers and schools to also join the project.  We can be proud that we have all our schools in North Hawaii signed up to become a Blue Zones Project School.  Parker School is the 1st Approved Private School in the State and the first for North Hawaii.  Carol also facilitates the Tobacco and Food Policy committee and the Built Enviroment Committees with local community leaders.

Sue Dela Cruz, Engagement Lead also been a busy bee in getting the community engaged by the different activities: Purpose Workshops, Walking and Potluck Moai's, having information at community events to get the word out about the Blue Zones Project.  She has also engaged the Faith Base Organizations, and have signed these to join the movement:  Annunciation Church,  Kohala Seventh Day Adventist Church, Abundant Life, St. Augustine Episcopal Church, St. James Episcopal Church and St. Columba Episcopal Church.  

She has one of the 1st two Approved Faith Base Organization in the State-Kohala Seventh Day Adventist!! They will be celebrating their Approval at the NH Anniversary Celebration! Come celebrate with them!!

Thank you North Hawaii for stepping up and making the healthy choice the easy choice to "Live Longer Better".  If you would like your organization-worksite, restaurant, grocery store, faith-base-to join the Blue Zones Project, go to our website, bluezonesproject.com and sign up.

Worksite Health Fairs

September marks the beginning of employer health fair season around North Hawaii and Blue Zones Project has been invited by several worksites to promote healthy lifestyle choices.

Registered Blue Zones Project worksites enjoy the many benefits of our FREE worksite program such as on-site purpose workshops, customized coaching, assistance with developing their own internal wellbeing program brand, and a selection of professionally-designed Blue Zones Project collateral, including an entire year’s worth of wellbeing newsletter content! Oh, and did we mention that this is all FREE?! Many thanks to our sponsor, HMSA (please note that worksites need not be HMSA providers to participate in our program).

Registration is super easy! Just visit hawaii.bluezonesproject.com/organization to sign up. We look forward to supporting your organization with their wellbeing goals!”

Paint the Town BLUE!

“Our ‘Paint the Town Blue’ campaign is a chance for all of our partners, participants, friends and ‘ohana to show their support for Blue Zones Project. Together, let’s paint the town blue and show our support towards making our community a happier and healthier place to live, work, and play!”

Place these awesome yard signs in your yard, car magnets on your car, decals on your business windows, and hang banners around your organization or near roadways to show your support.

These materials are available for you now. Let’s all display them and proudly show our support for improving our community’s health and well-being.

Help Paint the Town Blue by joining a Blue Zones Project activity: Join a Walking or Potluck Moai, Attend a Purpose Workshop. Have your organization join and hang a banner or yard sign.  Contact Sue Dela Cruz at bluezonesproject.northhawaii@healthways.com

Congrats to Hawaii First Federal Credit Union - East Hawaii and North Hawaii's FIRST Blue Zones Project Approved Worksite!

Hawaii First Federal Credit Union is the FIRST Blue Zones Project Approved™ worksite in East Hawaii and North Hawaii. Hawaii First has created an environment of employee well-being supported by strong leadership to empower staff to feel their best and do their best. As part of becoming approved, Hawaii First created a worksite wellness program called "WELLth" to encourage health and well-being company-wide. As part of their WELLth program, Hawaii First established an Employee Appreciation Day that allows employees to participate in a Purpose Workshop that focuses on developing their strengths, passions and purpose in life. 

“Our world – what we do every day –  is about putting people first,” said Laura Aguirre, Hawaii First president and chief executive. “Blue Zones Project is a movement among movements that provides the tools and resources to support healthier choices. We fully embrace making Hawaii a Blue Zone where our residents live longer, happier, healthier lives.” Congratulations to Hawaii First Federal Credit Union for their continued commitment to improving the well-being of their employees and community!

Approvals, Approvals, Approvals for happening all over!!

WOW! We are having lots of movement on Blue Zones Project approvals!  With the support and help from Dena and Sue working to support our community organizations through the approval process, we have 4 organizations Approved!

To become an approved organization, each had to go through the process were putting together their validation pieces indicated in their pledge workbook- a free tool from Blue Zones Project that provides research-backed guidance that can strengthen members’ involvement and support their well-being. The pledge process includes adopting and supporting best practices for promoting well-being in their organization.  

Congratulations to Kohala Coffee Mill, Under the Bodhi Tree, Kohala Seventh Day Adventist Church, and KTA Super store Waimea!  

We now have an approved restaurant in all 4 areas of North Hawaii, Kohala Coffee Mill and Under the Bodhi join the ranks with Sea Dandelion Cafe and Big Island Brewhaus.  KTA Superstore Waimea joins with Hawaii 1st FCU as an appoved worksite and Kohala Seventh Day Adventist is the 1st Faith Base Organization in North Hawaii, they are joined by East Hawaii  First Assembly of God as one of two,1st in State Faith Base Organization.  

Well done North Hawaii!! Keep the Approvals coming!!

Introducing the Hawaii Island Food Alliance

The Blue Zones Project is pleased to announce the formation of the Hawaii Island Food Alliance (HIFA), a group comprised of people and organizations from a wide variety of backgrounds – many of them experts on aspects of the food system. HIFA will serve as local resources, working collaboratively to share knowledge, stimulate dialogue, catalyze action, influence policy and initiate project partnerships on food-related issues.

We take this opportunity on National Food Day 2016, to acknowledge the members of the Hawaii Island Food Alliance and their contributions to our community:

County of Hawaii, Mayor’s Office; Lenard Allen – Public Health Educator, HI State DOH Chronic Disease Management Branch; Paul Strauss – Public Health Educator, HI State DOH Chronic Disease Management Branch; Julia Zee – County Extension Agent, UH-Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources; Scott Daniels, PhD – Program Specialist V, HI State DOH State Office of Primary Care & Rural Health; Richard Chinen – Vice President of Store Operations, KTA Superstores; Brandon Kobashigawa – Traditional Hawaiian Healing Project Manager, Hui Malama Ola Na Oiwi; Kyle Pfister – Founder, Ninjas for Health; Landry Fuller – Founder, Chef, Health Coach, Fuller Living; Susie Osborne – Founder, Kua o ka La Century Public Charter School; Emily Emmons – Co-founder, Executive Director, Ho`ola Farms; Stephen Shrader – Community Collaboration Coordinator, One Island and Same Canoe Local Food Challenge; Marcy Montgomery – Executive Director, One Island and Same Canoe Local Food Challenge; Graham Ellis – S.A.R.E. Local Foods Project; Keahi Tajon – Owner, Umauma Fruit & Flowers/Left Foot Steppin'; Donna Maltz – Founder & CEO, Soil to Soul Business Consulting; Betsy Cole – Interim CEO, The Kohala Center; Donna Mitts – Program Coordinator, Hawaii Island School Garden Network, The Kohala Center; En Young – Executive Director, The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s Food Bank; Kristin Albrecht - Director of Grants and Compliance, The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s Food Bank; Chelsea Takahashi – Delivery Programs Coordinator, The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s Food Bank; Ronnette Gonsalves – Co-founder, Bodacious Women/Men of Pahoa; Deanette Staudine – Outreach Assistant, Bodacious Women/Men of Pahoa; Jeanne Teleia – Founder, Wellness Coach, Nai’a Aloha LLC; Tina Tamai – (Retired) HI State DOH SNAP Education; Megan Yarberry – Project Manager, Blue Zones Project, Hawaii Island; Carol R. Ignacio – Community Program Manager, Blue Zones Project, Hawaii Island.

The mission of the Hawaii Island Food Alliance is to create an economically just, ecologically sound, and healthy and culturally appropriate food system for all who live on Hawaii Island. For more information about HIFA please contact Carol Ignacio, Facilitator/Convener at carolr.ignacio@healthways.com or call (808) 202.4958.