Rolling Roots Mobile Market

Once there were carts of vegetables, fruits and homemade goods rolling through the halls of the KKV’s clinics. Where chatter, bells and music would meet the hustling of local produce, grown by Oʻahu’s farmers, in bins loaded to the brim. Ulu, kalo, cassava, maiʻa - “two dollar” - papaya, mango, kale and radish - “three dollar, four!” – pickles, poi, breads, and eggs, “five dollar, six dollar, seven dollar, more!”  

The days of these carts being pushed from door to door are now met with boxes overflowing with ʻāina gifts and bags with greens spilling out the top – Roots has a way of nourishing community by sharing what the land provides. Do you hear that now? The sound of the Rolling Roots Mobile Market Food Truck, leading the charge down the streets of Kalihi providing local, nutritious, healthy and affordable food to those who are curious enough to approach. 

Since 2015, Roots’ Mobile Market Program has served as a community food engagement and access branch of Kōkua Kalihi Valley CFS (KKV). As a key connection point for healing, the Mobile Market broadens KKV’s health care outreach by utilizing local food as medicine. In the past decade the Roots Mobile Market, Food Hub and Cafe have supported 71 farm partners and have purchased over $1 million in wholesale- priced locally grown produce, totaling more than 431,000 pounds.  

In early 2024, Roots’ dream of a self-contained mobile food truck became reality. This 14-foot refrigerated vehicle houses products gathered from across Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island and can go anywhere wheels meet the road. You can find products that support small local farmers and showcase seasonal fruits, vegetables and cultural starches. Aside from produce, it also provides local animal proteins like venison, beef, shrimp, pork and eggs, and homemade value-added and ready to eat items crafted in the Roots kitchen. 

“It’s like the manapua man but really healthy and full of foods from this ʻāina!  As a kid, I remember running to the sounds of the manapua man van coming down the street to buy friend chicken and noodles, candy and soda. Till this day, when I hear that sound, I can still feel the excitement, the gathering of coins from my grandma’s spare change jar.” says Christen Oliveira, Roots Community Food System Planner.  

“With Rolling Roots, we wanted to create that same excitement, that same ʻono for homemade foods, that same feeling of tradition. We wanted to honor the history of food carts in Hawaiʻi while providing fresh produce, ready-to-eat foods and something to cook for your next meal! After almost a decade dreaming of this truck, we finally found the right one to fulfill our vision. It came all the way from Montreal, Canada, across the United States and Pacific Ocean to serve our community of Kalihi!”

The mission of Rolling Roots is to increase access to locally grown produce, proteins, value-added products, and nutrition education to the Kalihi community. It provides multiple points of purchase for residents, KKV patients and staff, and the broader community through connections to Kalihi and Oʻahu partners.  Customers can safely access affordable and culturally-relevant food options at pop-up markets at various KKV’s sites, particularly the Gulick Elder Care Center, as well as partner organizations such as Parents and Children Together, various Kalihi elementary schools, Kalihi community events, and other community-based locations.   

Roots currently supports about 33 small local farmers and value–added producers and ranchers by purchasing and distributing their products to community members, patients and customers at fair and reasonable prices. In addition to being at Rolling Roots, these foods are distributed through our ʻai pono “produce prescription” program for KKV patients and wherever they can be integrated into KKV’s community health programs. The products also are the primary source for the Roots Cafe + Market (Tuesday and Thursday 11:00am – 1:30pm) as well as Roots Cafe catering, which focuses on feeding gatherings of people who strengthen connections to food, land, culture, and health.  

The Mobile Market Truck artwork was a collaborative effort between local Kalihi artist Cory Taum and Roots Community Food System Planner, Christen Oliveira. Inspired by the abundant history of Kalihi Valley, the images depicted on the truck reflect ancestral food traditions of the people of this ahupuaʻa. With terraced images of kalo, ʻuala, and cassava roaming among moving wai, the art honors past and present. It represents an example of what we are working to restore and provide for Kalihi. Looking at the truck we are reminded of the foods which connect cultures across the Pacific and continue as symbols of health for many of our native, Pacific Islander, Asian and Polynesian neighbors, ancestors, and the generations to come. The wind and the rain are woven through these food crops as a reminder of the rugged energy and abundance alive in this ʻāina. 

Since the Rolling Roots Grand Opening event at the KKV Gulick Elder Care Center, Roots has held Friday Mobile Markets at Fern Elementary, PACT Resource Center, Hoʻoulu ʻĀina, and at our kūpuna center at Gulick! These events are ongoing, typically on Fridays, and will continue with existing partners while expanding to other community minded organizations and institutions as program resources allow. 

All of this would not be possible without the support of our networks and funders.  We’d like to give a deep and heartfelt mahalo to: Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), Weinberg Foundation, Stupski Foundation, Hawaiʻi Food Hub Hui, The Freeman Foundation, Healthy Food Financing Initiative, State of Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, Matson, and the Farmers Truck. 

This article was made possible with the help from Roots Community Food System Planner, Christen Oliveira. Mahalo nui Christen!