{"id":19801,"date":"2025-06-24T11:37:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T21:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/?p=19801"},"modified":"2025-06-30T08:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T18:51:14","slug":"tutu-and-me-distributes-740-pounds-of-fresh-poi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/tutu-and-me-distributes-740-pounds-of-fresh-poi\/","title":{"rendered":"Tutu and Me Traveling Preschool Distributes 740 Pounds of Fresh Poi to Families Statewide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At the end of the school year, T\u016bt\u016b and Me Traveling Preschool<\/a> gifted 740 preschoolers on Kaua\u02bbi, O\u02bbahu, Maui, Moloka\u02bbi, and Hawai\u02bbi with one-pound of fresh poi to bring home to their families. The statewide initiative fed families while simultaneously supporting local kalo farmers on each island, creating an economic and cultural impact across Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u02bbOhana from Kaua\u02bbi enjoying their poi from Aloha \u02bb\u0100ina Poi Company<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cPoi represents the values and mission of our work, symbolizing \u02bbohana (family), k\u016bpuna (ancestors), and \u02bb\u0101ina (land),\u201d shares Amanda Ishigo, T\u016bt\u016b and Me Project Director. \u201cThese connections form the broader purpose of our curriculum and learning environment. While we want keiki to progress in areas such as language, math and science, we are also very conscious of integrating concepts that emphasize cultural preservation and caring for Hawai\u02bbi.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The multi-island coordination required months of planning with several local farms like Hua \u2018\u0100ina Kalo (Moloka\u02bbi), K\u0101ko\u02bbo \u02bb\u014ciwi (O\u02bbahu), Aloha Poi (Maui), Aloha \u02bb\u0100ina Poi Company (Kaua\u02bbi), and Hawai\u02bbi Fresh Specialties (Hawai\u02bbi) to source poi local to the participating families. This partnership approach ensured that families received poi made from kalo grown on their home islands, representing a significant investment in both cultural education and local agriculture. When the poi distribution day came around, families and keiki were smiling from ear to ear with excitement.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kawehi Carpio, T\u016bt\u016b and Me Site Manager of Waimea and Honoka\u02bba sites, was there for the distribution of poi to their participating families. \u201cWhat an amazing opportunity and privilege it was to be a part of feeding the hearts, minds, and bodies of our keiki and their families,\u201d Carpio shares, \u201cThe poi distribution was a great success, with heartfelt gratitude evident on the faces of keiki and caregivers alike.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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T\u016bt\u016b and Me Traveling Preschool integrates Hawaiian Culture Based Education into their curriculum in over 24 locations throughout Kaua\u02bbi, O\u02bbahu, Maui, Moloka\u02bbi, and Hawai\u02bbi. Through a Family-Child Interaction Learning (FCIL) model, their approach ensures that keiki, from birth to five years old, build a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning and success. Providing poi, a staple in Hawaiian culture, was just one of the ways that T\u016bt\u016b and Me provides families with experiences for extended learning at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAunty Malia used to always say, \u2018It doesn\u2019t matter if you are Hawaiian or not. If you live in Hawai\u02bbi, you have the kuleana (responsibility) to be educated about Hawai\u02bbi and to take care of it\u2019\u201d Ishigo noted. The poi distribution aligns with the mission of Partners in Development Foundation, to inspire and equip families and communities with success and service using timeless Native Hawaiian values and traditions, which has served over 170,000 people across more than 75 communities since 1997. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story can also be found on KITV Island News – written by Kayli Pascal-Martinez<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the end of the school year, T\u016bt\u016b and Me Traveling Preschool gifted 740 preschoolers on Kaua\u02bbi, O\u02bbahu, Maui, Moloka\u02bbi, and Hawai\u02bbi with one-pound of fresh poi to bring home…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":19811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,73],"tags":[552,124,554],"class_list":["post-19801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-success-stories","category-tutu-and-me","tag-aina","tag-tutu-and-me","tag-tutu-and-me-traveling-preschool"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19801"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19813,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19801\/revisions\/19813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}