Agencies - Hawai'i Nutrition Center

Participating Agencies

Agency Testimonials

That was such a great activity. It was great for parents to know that they should include more vegetables and fruits in their diet and giving them the resources to eat healthy by providing a plant they can grow is just amazing. You also taught them how to grow a seed into a seedling, how to transplant, and even provided an incentive to grow the seed into a mature plant. You've really put a lot of thought into this! The students really enjoyed the activity and some told me this morning that their plant was beginning to grow! Deanna, you've really put together an awesome program and we are so blessed to be able to participate in Food to Grow. Thank you for making this happen for us! (March 2025)

SNAP-Ed staff are effective educators, could engage participants and provided useful information. (May 2025)

I enjoyed repotting a plant. We did our activity in a classroom and invited parents to join. It was great seeing parents learning, helping students not just their own, and being an active part of our classroom community. I also enjoyed that there was a recipe database to learn recipes with the vegetables that are grown. I did not know you could use EBT to purchase food producing seeds and planting supplies or food producing plants at the store. I think this is a great opportunity to teach households how to stretch their food budget, push themselves to create new recipes and inspire children to be responsible in a new way. (March 2025)

My kids (students) absolutely LOVED the activity and were so excited to be able to have a plant of their own. It was extremely informative for the parents plus it was great seeing parents interact with their kids and peers and how they take care of each other. It was a great activity!! (March 2025)

The Food to Grow program was a truly enriching experience for our parents and students! Deanna was absolutely awesome as she did an exceptional job presenting the material in a fun, clear, and engaging way. Her energy and passion for the topic really resonated with everyone. This program is incredibly valuable because it goes beyond just teaching, it empowers families with lifelong skills. Parents and students not only learned how to plant and care for their own food, but also gained important knowledge about healthy, nutritional eating. These are lessons that can lead to healthier lifestyles, better food choices, and even spark a love for gardening and sustainability. What made this program even more special was the way it brought families together. Parents were actively involved, working side by side with their children on planting activities, which created wonderful opportunities for bonding and learning together. It was heartwarming to see parents and kids so engaged and excited about growing their own food. Food to Grow is more than just a program, it’s a hands-on educational experience that leaves a lasting impact on families and communities. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of it. (February 2025)

Our library’s mission is to inspire curiosity and create opportunities for all to read, learn, and connect. Partnering with SNAP-Ed—specifically the University of Hawaii’s Food to Grow program--has enhanced our ability to fulfill this mission. ... Our library hosted a UH Food to Grow workshop especially for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was led by Deanna Au-Wong, who is a seasoned pro at teaching people how to grow vegetables at home. She showed participants how to make their own newspaper pots and gave plenty of tips for growing green bean plants from seed. She also informed the adults and their staff about vegetable seeds being an eligible purchase with SNAP benefits! This workshop has resulted in several harvests of green beans, tomatoes, and eggplant that the adults have shared with their families. When I visited the Easterseals Waimea Service Center this Spring, the adults were proud and excited to show me their vegetable plants, which are growing well! Our library also started offering a seed library so that community members can take vegetable seeds to grow at home. It has proved a popular program so we are refreshing our supply of seeds because of this strong interest from library patrons of all ages. I believe it’s important to encourage people to grow their own produce because it’s so much fresher and tastier—and helps households save on groceries! We appreciate that Deanna Au-Wong has been willing to collaborate with our library to educate people on West Kauai. The UH Food to Grow program has made a positive impact on our patron’s lives and well-being. This partnership has been wonderful for supporting a healthier, more informed, and more resilient community. (December 2024)

We all had a really great time! Families have kept us updated on their plants. We definitely look forward to working with you in the future. This was a great event. (December 2024)

I just want to thank you so much for letting us participate in the Food to Grow workshop. We had so much fun and we learned a lot. Families are still talking about what a great time they had. (September 2024)

How easy it is to grow food in your own yard without professional equipment (August 2024)

Thank you very much for all of your hard work! This was more than what we had expected. WOW! This was truly a fun activity for my students and I know that the parents had a wonderful time as well. You went above and beyond to make this meeting a success. My students learned the importance of recycling and reducing waste, and this project aligned perfectly with what we were learning about. We learned to be sustainable by making newspaper pots. The kids learned the parts of the plants and their function. We had so many wonderful learning moments! (May 2024)

It wasn’t as hard it seems to grow our own food. Ms Au-Wong was so fun to learn from. (August 2023)

We are extremely grateful to Deanna and David for their invaluable contribution in facilitating Hawaii Nutrition Center program's "Food to Grow" at Kekaulike Courtyards. Their unwavering dedication, professionalism, and ability to educate our community have been truly remarkable. Through their guidance, we have gained access to incredible resources that will allow our community to live healthily on a limited budget, all thanks to the program's website. The experience of learning how to create sustainability and grow our own food has been transformative. We cannot express enough gratitude for the education, time, and generosity provided by this program. We sincerely hope that every community seizes this opportunity. We eagerly anticipate witnessing our residents' success in growing their own food and are excited to see the images that capture these achievements. Thank you so much for everything.

I originally established contact with SNAP-Ed to ask for a list of resources to help assist me with a nutrition class I was planning on teaching. Deanna reached out to me with a whole program called Food to Grow! The resources, class, and training she offered me was way more than I could have ever asked for. Food to Grow is such an amazing program for the community to get involved in growing their own fruits and vegetables. What a sense of accomplishment being able to grow your own food! The residents and employees at our shelter loved having the opportunity to green their thumbs. I 100% recommend this program!

Just wanted to share, we are using the skills we learned from your workshop to grow herbs for our 85th Anniversary 😊. We are growing cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, basil, parsley, garlic chives, Greek oregano, and thyme. Wish us luck!!!

We loved the education on healthy foods, habits and plants that were shared to the community and families.

Keep doing what you folks are doing because it's so impactful!

The children had an opportunity to learn to grow their own beans. Thank you Food To Grow program and Deanna for this wonderful program!

Thank you so much for doing this for us. It was a great opportunity and it sparked much passion for growing more veggies! It’s so fun to watch our beans sprout and grow. Can’t wait to harvest and EAT!

Thanks so much for letting us participate in this program, it has been a real success!

I was also a part of the (group) who didn't know about using EBT. I appreciate the education.

The tenants were thrilled with this project and it was very easy to work with Deanna! She was well organized.

I like how the project was broken down so it was easy to explain to the kids.

Deanna was so enthusiastic, it was a pleasure working with her. Tenants were a little shy at first but once they were encouraged, they were able to participate. Wonderful project for the Seniors!

I absolutely loved the Food to Grow project and appreciate our partnership so much. Thank you for making the process so easy and smooth.

It's a great project! It gives the recipient the responsibility to take care of something that he/she will enjoy eating later on.

Children enjoyed the hands-on experience!

This project has opened many doors of interest and possibilities for the students. They enjoyed the simplicity in task which therefore caused them to engage throughout the project. Students looked forward to the follow up activities, with frequent questions like "why can't we plant the seeds today?" or "when are we going to plant the seeds again?" which was asked daily for a week straight! On the end of coordinating, planning was very thorough yet extremely flexible. The students school life has been adjusted completely, and being able to work with Deanna to better suit their new way of schooling was a pleasure. This project was definitely a delight to have, and I look forward to introducing this to the rest of our programs/sites. MAHALO!