Jillian Seals, Director of the Kauai Farm Connection has been an organic farmer for over 20 years. Her business provides beyond organic produce to the Island through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) also know as a Seasonal Subscription Produce Program. This multifaceted agricultural model was designed by Seals and her husband Gary and was brought to life to help accommodate the growing desires for individuals to learn tropical farming on Kauai. Coupled with the increased desire for residents and vistors to know where their food comes from they have created a support network for Island farmers. The business' 12 acre home base of Kauapea Farm produces organically grown vegetables & fruits along with seasonal value added and speciality products. About 80% of all products are grown on site while 20 % of the fruits and veggies and other medicinal varieties come from other farmers with in the area. All products are handled and stored on site and distributed around the Island on a weekly basis. Private CSA along with Wholesale Members such as restaurants, Markets, Chefs & Caterers can order from a diverse list of seasonal produce on a weekly basis. Farmers Members who would like to share the fruits of their labors through the KFC must be willing to go through a stringent quality control process insuring their produce is organic before becoming a regular source for goods. Benefits of becoming a CSA, wholesale or Farmer Member include getting the true value for products, having a central destination(s) to include delivery and sale of seasonal products. Community Supported Agriculture, aka CSA; is a thriving movement across the United States. A true synthesis of connection in community, farmers and their members have a symbiotic relationship. Members, essentially buying a stake in the farm, pre pay for a season of weekly deliveries known as shares. These shares provide the farmer with a secure source of income to plant their gardens. The farmer knows exactly how much to plant, how many laborers are needed, how much seed to buy and how much water will be needed because they know exactly how many people they are feeding. In turn, members receive a box of freshly harvested organic produce every week. Boxes from the Kauai Farm Connection vary in contents each week offering a variety of seasonal produce & fruits. Shares are available in family-(lrg) and single-(sm) sizes. The KFC offers 2 pick up locations north and east sides of Kauai as well as island delivery. We provide a large array of SEASONAL favorites including broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, cucumber, winter squash, purple sweet potatoes, corn, beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, cabbage, taro, peppers, celery, lemons, kale, rainbow chard, tat sai, bok choy, arugula, mustard greens, micro greens, beets, carrots, daikon, radish, onions, tender head lettuce, lettuce mixes , basil, dill, chives, sage, spearmint, lemongrass, oregano, parsley, cilantro, apple bananas, mangos, lilikoi, lychee and papayas. All organic, all locally grown. The benefits of participating in a CSA are many. Your pledge to support a local farm insures you are getting plenty of healthy produce in your diet. Knowing where your food comes from gives you confidence that the produce you receive was grown with sustainable methods thus reducing the risk of contracting E. Dealing directly with the farmer, your produce is cheaper and you are nurturing Kauai’s food security while your carbon footprint is greatly reduced; produce doesn’t travel up to 9000 miles before it gets to you. There is no packaging contributing to the island’s land fill or use of oil to make the packaging. CSA creates strong communities through farm and family partnerships and participating stimulates a healthy economy by creating jobs and supporting local businesses. Your food choices do matter. Jillian, along her Husband and their 4 children, have created a nurturing environment where their farm team has been connecting folks to food within their own ahuapua' a or watershed since 2007. After many years of participating in the agricultural industry here on Kauai, the Kauai Farm Connection continues to provide a creative avenue making food available and affordable to Island residents and visitors alike. In fact in 2010 the KFC became the 1st and ONLY farm ON ISLAND to accept Food Stamps. Today it remains as the ONLY SNAP ready Farm. Everyone can receive FARM DIRECT - .
“We believe in sharing sustainable methods in food growing techniques and in the availability of the food grown locally with deep intention.” In early 2007 Jillian and Gary created a farm training program called Seed to Table. The relationship between their training programs (offered 2x a year) along with the orchestration of a consistent distribution outlet gives them confidence to participate in an amazing closed loop system. Both the Kauai Farm Connection and Seed to Table programs are well recognized around the island and include personal connections with many local organizations, public and private. Seed to Table remains a 501-c3 under Garden Island Resource Conservation & Development Inc. (GIRC&d). The Kauai Farm Connection continues on reaching out to provide local organic food to the people who need it most. Aside from running the Farm on Kauapea, being a mom and directing Seed to Table, Jillian has also taught agriculture around the island at places such as the Kauai Community College in Lihue, the Kauai Pacific School (pre-K-6), formerly on the north shore as well as Kilauea Elementary. If you are an organic farmer interested in providing produce, have organic eggs or other value added products; are a restaurant interested in procuring local organic produce; are interested in becoming a member of the CSA or in learning about organic farming on Kauai please contact us.
