Our mission is to provide the public with information on the nutritional content of foods and recipes that are unique to Hawaiʻi. We hope that this can serve as a resource for you to learn more about foods and recipes from the many cultural and ethnic groups that call Hawaiʻi home.
Disclaimer: General and reliable food and nutrient information is provided on this website to help you make healthier choices. The website is not intended to meet the specific needs of people with special diet requirements, who should consult with a credentialed nutrition expert and/or licensed healthcare professional.
The mission of Hawaiʻi Foods is to provide the public with information on the nutritional content of foods and recipes unique to Hawaiʻi. By providing food and nutrient information we hope to assist individuals in making healthier food and beverage choices. Because the foods eaten in Hawaiʻi reflect the cultural range of its people, this website contains nutrient information on foods typically found in Western, Asian, Pacific Islander, and other “local” diets. It is an evolving resource, as nutrient data, recipes, publications, photos, and other information are continually being added to the databases.
The initial conceptual framework for the Hawaiʻi Foods website was developed by several members of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) at the University of Hawai‘i: Sylvia Yuen, PhD; Alvin Huang, PhD; Joannie Dobbs, PhD; Steven Spielman, MS; Naomi Kanehiro, MS, RD; and Kathy Lu. The present website is a collaboration with the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center (UHCC). The nutrient and recipe databases are maintained by and follow the protocols of the Nutrition Support Shared Resources at UHCC (past director Suzanne Murphy, PhD, RD; current director Carol Boushey, MPH, PhD, RD; and Donna Au, MPH, RD). Cyndy Kahalewale, MPH, RDN, LD, was the first Hawai‘i Foods Project Coordinator, and is responsible for launching the website in October 2007. The website underwent a major revision in 2022 to the current version. The current website coordinator is Monica Esquivel PhD RDN CSSD. The My Diet feature of the website is based on the Pacific Tracker (PacTrac), which was developed by a USDA/CSREES/Integrated National Research Initiative grant awarded to Dr. Rachel Novotny for the “Healthy Living in the Pacific Islands: Healthy Pacific Child Program”. Programming and computer support for the Hawaiāi Foods website are provided by CTAHR. Research and verification of the scientific names for foods is provided by Eileen Herring, Reference Librarian, Science & Technology Reference, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library.
Financial support for Hawaiʻi Foods is provided by CTAHR and by a grant to Dr. Yuen from the Vitamin Settlement Fund administered by the Hawaiʻi Attorney General’s Office. In kind and other supports come from UHCC; CTAHR; the Island Fresh project of the Department of Agriculture and Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; and the Healthy Living Hawaiʻi project of the Community Health Division, Hawaiʻi Department of Health. The Hawaiʻi Nutrition Center (formerly Nutrition Education for Wellness (NEW) program), part of CTAHR’s Cooperative Extension Service, provides community outreach education throughout Hawaiʻi on behalf of Hawaiʻi Foods. A special thank you to the CTAHR distance education and design team, Ty Lim, Kellie Taguchi, and Dan Paguirigan Jr who played key roles in updating the website to its 2022 version.
