Big Island Farm Fresh Foods -- Featured CSA
Big Island Farm Fresh Foods (BIFFF) is a new concept in Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA). Brittany and Bodhi Anderson, while looking for safe food sources for themselves, had the idea of purchasing the healthiest variety of island grown produce and other food products they could find from small, individual farmers and producers and in turn offer them to subscribers through weekly deliveries.
Thus BIFFF was born, and the list of subscribers has been climbing steadily in the last few months. The Andersons purchase local organic and/or sustainably grown fruits, vegetables and meats and strive to purchase only food grown, raised, made or baked on the Island of Hawai’i.
The range of products offered include Mountain View Organic hydroponic strawberries, smoked wild boar from Ka’u, organic vegetables, local fruits, freshly baked bread and cinnamon rolls from the Papa’a Palaoa Bakery, and goat cheese from Lava Rocks Puna goat Farms. The latest addition to their “Webstand” is Ka’u Kuahiwi Ranch grass-fed beef. Special orders are taken for farm fresh eggs, dried fruit, salsas and a delicious Pico de Gallo.
BIFFF tries to tailor deliveries to those customers who are affected by food allergies or require specific diets, and try to make an even mix of fruits and vegetables for everyone, depending on what is ripe and in season each week.
Subscribers get to choose their membership schedule between weekly or bi-monthly deliveries. In addition, there are two box options to choose from: the basic box includes 7-10 fruits and vegetables and feeds 1-2 people depending on portion sizes; the deluxe box is double the amount of the basic box and always includes a loaf of bread.
On the day of our visit, the boxes contained bananas, Russian kale, starfruit, tangerines, cucumbers, rosemary, grapefruit and colorful Jembo pole beans. A few boxes included salsas, goat cheese, bread and/or eggs.
Orders placed by Monday at 6pm are delivered on Thursday. Any orders received after the 6pm deadline will roll over to the next week's delivery.
Advertising is mostly by subscriber’s word of mouth and through their Facebook page. Deliveries are made in the Hilo area and Ka’u on Thursdays. Click on the webpage URL to contact BIFFF.
“We at Big Island Farm Fresh Foods are concerned about the diet many of us consume. We are passionate about changing diets and changing lives. Helping people access local fresh produce is our mission and we love doing it!
"We try to expose our subscribers to new and unusual vegetables and fruits being grown on the island. When we have something a little out of the ordinary we highlight an easy recipe on our BIFFF blog to help subscribers utilize their produce.
"There is an exciting ever-changing “hook ups” list where subscribers can add things like flowers, eggs, jams, bread, cheese, salsa and meats to their delivery.
"We see ourselves expanding coverage into Keaau/Pahoa area first. We need roughly 5-10 long-term customers to make the expanded coverage work. We see ourselves stocking the refrigerators at vacation rentals, being a go-to resource for people desiring a lifestyle change while helping local farmers reach new customers”
Big Island Farm Fresh Foods
Subscription, Delivery, Contact
Sonia R. Martinez, the Hawai'i Homegrown Food Network regular farmers market reporter, is a cookbook author and freelance food writer for several publications in Hawai'i, including The Hamakua Times of Honoka’a. She is a contributing writer for Edible Hawaiian Islands Magazine and has her own food & garden blog at soniatasteshawaii.com