From Jim Moffat/Bar Acuda Restaurant, Hanalei, Kaua`i: The need to shop locally may be a global concern, but as we try to hold on to the small farmer, working his field, feeding his family and the community at large, and as we try to stem the growth of the giant corporate agro-businesses and their culture of corporate centralization exemplified by plant patenting…we realize we must start locally.

Nowhere is it more important than right here, on an island in the middle of the ocean.
From a business point of view we must become self-sufficient.  For obvious reasons we can no longer afford to import all of our food products from across the ocean.

For me as a chef there is a more compelling reason to support local farms, in my profession I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to feed and nurture the people all around me, my clientele, my employees and my family.  I want the most beautiful, best tasting and most nutritional food I can find, and that means local farms.
It is about nutrition/acre not yield /acre, and we find that in the small local farmer.

When we shop at the local farmers market we feel a connection with the food, environment and community. We need to make the connection and know where our food comes from so we can protect the natural resources and pay attention to what were doing for the next generation.

Each year I talk with farmers about what we would like to see them grow for us, and I look forward every summer to see what they have come up with. It is a slow process but with time and support I think we could grow anything.

As David Thoreau said  “though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.”
www.restaurantbaracuda.com

From the Family/Ocean Vodka, Maui: Our family has had the good fortune to own and operate successful businesses for several decades. We decided it was time to devote ourselves to a project that would be highly enjoyable and provide us with a means to give something back to protect our ocean environment which has provided our family with many years of pleasure.

Having grown up in such an incredible place, it is hard not to be deeply influenced and affected by the ocean. After our dad, Kyle, taught us to surf, the beautiful blue Pacific became our second home. Now that we have families of our own, the ocean continues to play a huge part in our lives.

We also recognize how fragile our ocean eco-systems have become, especially in the last decade or so. We support natural production methods and products made without chemicals or pesticides. Our product has been named OCEAN Vodka both because of the desalinated Hawai’i seawater from which it is made but also to pay tribute to the importance of the ocean in the life of Maui, Hawai'i, and the world. Additionally, a portion of our profits will go to organizations that help to protect and revitalize our ocean's resources.
www.oceanvodka.com

From Andrea and Patrick Quinn/Icing On The Cake, Kapa`a, Kaua`i: At Icing on the Cake, we believe in the old adage that you ‘are what you eat.’  With that in mind, and in the defense of the right to pleasure, we are committed to using the highest quality and most sustainable ingredients and making them into pastries that are both tasteful and responsible.  By responsible, we mean healthful products and practices, as pure and natural as possible, without synthetic additives or unnecessary packaging.  By sustainability we mean conservation of resources, including natural resources like the families, businesses, and networks that plant and harvest and provide.
We look at our small island, our community, and realize how our presence impacts the environment in both positive and negative ways.  Knowing this, we try to conserve and reduce where we can.  We believe a good kitchen respects its sources, chooses ingredients that are sound, seasonal, and local when possible.  We feel that respect for traditions, both time-honored and new, is equal to respect for ingenuity and improvisation.
Cheers to good food, community, and sustainability.
www.icingonthecakekauai.com

Aurora Foundation: In an effort to turn our personal tragedy into something positive and help ourselves move forward, we formed the Aurora Foundation in memory of our loved ones who were prematurely taken from us in March of 2006.

The goal of the foundation is to contribute to children in need worldwide by supporting health, education and cultural heritage programs that nurture sustainable community development.

The first place we have put our focus is at the Children of the Forest project in Sanghklaburi, Thailand—a children’s home and community for Burmese refugees. Our extensive fundraising and two visits have helped the community with educational efforts, water purification, growing and milling their own rice, and providing housing and medical support.

The on-going projects we are inspired to continue are the Sponsorship Program and Blanket Projects. Through the children’s sponsorship program, destitute children at risk are able to have their education, medical requirements and daily living needs met by a simple donation of one dollar per day. The blanket project started locally in 2006 with homeschooled children, their families and friends creating 89 handmade blankets which were gifted to the children at the home. This is now a yearly endeavor with nearly 200 blankets made in 2007 by groups, mostly children, all over the U.S.—from Bellingham, Washington to Easthampton, New York.

While we are honored to be named a Local Hero, the real heroes are the countless people who have given so generously of their time, their  funds and their hearts.
Cyndee and Bruce Fehring for the Aurora Foundation 
www.theaurorafoundation.org