How we relate to food on every level—how it is grown, harvested, and prepared, and with what spirit it is shared—reflects the well being of our lives.

The consequences of the observed disconnection between human life and food production are far-reaching. Children’s diets are full of processed, “fast” food high in unhealthy fats, refined sugar, and chemicals; diabetes and obesity are commonplace.

Dr. Michelle Suber, a physician serving the Waimea community since 1998, was concerned with the prevalence of diet- and nutrition-related illness among her patients. Looking for a long term solution aimed at prevention, Michelle and a group of community stakeholders led the development of a school garden program, targeting middle school adolescents as the ideal age to introduce garden classes and related life lessons.

Dr. Suber invited Amanda Rieux, a garden educator from the Edible Schoolyard Project in Berkely, to come to Hawaii to start the garden and its programs at Waimea Middle school.

Māla‘ai was created to address the disconnection between children living in today’s fast-paced, consumer-oriented society and their lack of awareness of food origins and production.

Founded in 2003 and in operation since February 2005,  Māla’ai is funded from donations and grants, allowing the garden to thrive despite constant changes to funding and priorities within the Department of Education (DOE). Working in the garden children are engaged in outdoor physical and academic activities such as planning, measuring garden plots, digging, composting, planting, building a tool shed, harvesting, and cooking. Student response to our program is enthusiastic and teachers report improved attendance and class engagement.

In 2007 Mayor Kim commissioned The Rocky Mountain Institute to review Hawaiʻi County’s goals and develop a whole-system conceptual framework to address them. This report identified the development and promotion of school gardens as an initiative that could substantially contribute to the strength of a local food economy and increase the consumption of locally produced food on Hawai’i Island. In 2008, with support from Mālaʻai and 20 other schools across Hawaii, The Kohala Center and respected organic farmer Nancy Redfeather started the first island-wide School Garden Network in the State of Hawaii.

The Hawaiʻi Island School Garden Network (HISGN) utilized Mālaʻai Culinary Garden as a model garden and host site for programming, and over the course of a decade, the school learning garden movement has grown to include over 60 school gardens on Hawaii Island.

This movement encouraged school garden support organizations to pop up on Kauai, Oʻahu, Molokai, and Maui. Founded in 2010, the statewide Farm to School Hui is now a program of the Hawaii Public Health Institute and includes members of the Island Networks, State Agencies (DOE, DOH, and DOA), University of Hawaii at Manoa (Extension, Master Gardeners, 4-H), and community organizations.

Intrinsically involved in this movement since itʻs inception, Māla’ai officially assumed leadership and fiscal responsibility for HISGN in 2019, revitalizing efforts to provide professional development, advocacy, mentorship, and technical assistance to school gardens across the state.