Maui’s organic food sources
When it comes to quality food sources, Maui has many. However, USDA certified organic food sources are harder to come by on the island. Much of the Maui-grown produce is grown on small farms. Many of these local farmers are farming “organically,” but they are not yet certified USDA organic due to a lengthy and costly certification process.
The USDA organic label is not as prominent on Maui as it is on the mainland. Instead, some common terms for organic farming are “biodynamic” and “certified naturally grown.” These terms indicate to consumers that the product was grown without synthetic chemicals from some fertilizers and pesticides and also without genetic modification or antibiotics.
Alchemy Maui
Alchemy Maui is an excellent bistro. Located in Lahaina on Maui’s West Side, this is a perfect spot for a healthy, organic lunch on Maui. Alchemy Maui is offering up food and drinks made with locally sourced, organic and non-GMO ingredients, with many delicious vegan and vegetarian offerings on the menu.
Choice Health Bar
Choice Health Bar is a vegetarian-vegan restaurant that is serving up some delicious organic foods. By hand selecting as many of their ingredients from local farms as they can, Choice Health Bar is helping to create a sustainable future for Maui’s Farmers. Currently, there are three Choice Health Bar locations across Maui: their original location in Lahaina, a second location at Whalers Village in Ka’anapali, and the most recent opening in Paia Town, on Maui’s North Shore.
Farmer's Market and Deli Store
Farmer’s Market and Deli Store is packed full of organic products and produce. It’s easily the best organic grocery store on the West side. They have rows of organic and local produce as well as packaged organic foods and organic beauty products and essential oils.
Foodland
Foodland is a big box grocery store found throughout the Hawaiian Islands. It’s similar to a store like Safeway, but privately owned by a Hawaii family. Shoppers can find everything they need at Foodland stores including locally grown, sustainable, and organic foods.
Merriman’s
Merriman’s offers regional island cuisine to four restaurants on three islands. They take pride in using certified organic products whenever possible and commit to 90% local ingredients. They also use sustainable, grass-fed meats and line-caught fish in all their dishes.
Moku Roots
Located in Lahaina, Moku Roots is Maui’s only “zero” waste restaurant. Moku Roots takes pride in serving healthy vegan and vegetarian food made from Maui’s locally grown organic ingredients. They follow a code of honor that that they have named, “our roots.” These roots include: integrity, transparency, fun, creativity and passion. Their goal is to create delicious vegetarian foods that taste as good as they look. More importantly, heathy Maui grown food that makes you feel good!
Monkeypod
Monkeypod is a Peter Merriam concept restaurant in line with his values of sustainability. They partner with local farmers to bring dishes with local ingredients and even cocktails using Kula lavender.
Pacific’o
Pacific’O is one of Maui’s best and first farm-to-table restaurants. Their menu is stocked full of local organic produce and sustainably sourced meats and seafood. In fact, all of the fruits, vegetables, and herbs used in their dishes are grown at their family-owned O’o Farms in Kula.
Safeway
Safeway is a large chain grocery store found through West Coast of the U.S. In recent years, Safeway has opened new stores in Central Maui, South Maui, and West Maui areas.
Leaf & Limb
Leaf & Limb is a privately owned organic kombucha company based on Maui. Their small-batch kombucha products are made with wild and locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. This company is dedicated to quality.
Farmer’s Market Maui
Farmers Market Maui is a locally-owned farmer’s market. Throughout the week, you can find them at their Kihei (Monday-Friday 8am-4pm) or Lahaina (Monday, Wednesday & Friday 7am-11am) locations.
Fork & Salad
Fork & Salad is the concept of chef-owners Cody Christopher, Jaron Blosser and Travis Morrin. Their vision was to create a way to make farm-to-table food more readily available to the masses. Maui currently has two locations; one in Kihei on Maui’s South Shore, and the other in the Pu’unene Shopping Center in Kahului (across from Target).
Hawaiian Moons
Hawaiian Moons in Kihei is the only independently owned grocery store on the South side selling organic foods and home goods. They have a wide selection of local and organic produce, pastries, frozen foods, packaged foods, and organic home and beauty supplies.
Joy’s Place
Joy’s Place offers organic sandwiches, smoothies, chili, soups, baked treats, salads, acai bowls, burritos, burgers, and breakfast sandwiches in Kihei. For drinks, they have Maui Coffee Roaster’s Organic French Roast Coffee, Valley Isle Kombucha on tap, and house-made juices and elixirs.
Miso Phat Sushi
Miso Phat Sushi offers some of the island’s highest quality sushi at competitive prices. The owner grows some of the produce used in the rolls in his own organic garden. They offer sashimi, nigiri, temaki hand rolls, and vegetarian sushi rolls, in addition to combo platters and popular sides like miso soup and edamame.
What Ales You
What Ales You is a sports bar, live music venue, wine bar, and a gastro-style pub is South Maui. Set in Kihei, here’s your go-to post-beach spot for good vibes, socializing, enjoying organic foods, and craft beer on Maui.
Café des Amis
Café des Amis is located in Historic Paia Town. Known as the bohemian hub of Maui’s North Shore, here’s a great local eatery with a sweet and satisfying ambiance.
Flatbread Company
Flatbread Company has 13 locations, including one in Paia.
They serve organic pizza using free-range meats, no growth hormones or chemicals, organic ingredients, and local produce from Kumu Farms, Ono Farm, and Kahuna Aina Farm. Their pizza is baked in a large wood-fired oven right in the center of the dining area with an open kitchen.
Kuau Store
Kuau Store is one of the last places to stop on the way to Hana as you leave Paia. They have a surprisingly comprehensive array of organic products for their size. Kuau Store has a juice bar and deli serving plate lunches, poke bowls, and sandwiches. They also carry organic beer, coconut water, yerba mate and coffee.
Maui Bees
Maui Bees is a family business that produces pure and artisanal Maui honey on the slopes of Mt. Haleakala. Their honey is naturally harvested, and 100% cold-processed. Their wild and raw honey is delicious, and we love that they perform sustainable business practices when making their products.
Maui Bees has two seasonal honey harvests during the year: Summer and Winter.
Maka by Mana
Maka by Mana has moved to a new and more convenient location, right inside Mana Foods. Mana Foods Grocery is a family owned and operated health food store in the heart of Paia Town on Maui’s North Shore. Maka is a 100% plant based and gluten free juice bar and café. Guest will love the amazing variety of high-quality fresh pressed juices, smoothies, health shots, coffee drinks, kombucha, breakfast bowls and lunch items that are being served here.
Mana Foods
Mana Foods is a beloved organic grocer in Paia. They sell organic produce and products, bulk items and deli items. The store is packed full of anything and everything organic you could possibly need.
Maui Kombucha
Maui Kombucha is located in Haiku on Maui’s North Shore. This fantastic Maui ‘kombucha-ria’ and restaurant serves house-made kombucha on tap, and a variety of gluten-free, vegan, and raw organic food.
Paia Bowls
Paia Bowls is located on Maui’s North Shore. Founded by local Maui surfer brothers Ian and Luke Walsh, Paia Bowls is a great place to go for delicious organic food on Maui. This is the perfect stop on the way to Hana, or a great way to fuel up before starting your day exploring Maui’s eclectic bohemian town of Paia.
Veg Out
Veg Out is located on Maui’s North Shore. It’s a casual and family-friendly vegetarian restaurant in Haiku.
Evonuk Farms
Located in Upcountry Maui on 40 acres of Kula farmland, Evonuk Farms is a family operated farm that is continually cultivating more than 25 different culinary herbs. In addition, they grow gourmet greens, kale, beets, rainbow chard and a variety of fresh seasonal fruits. This Maui family business is definitely doing things right!
Kupa’a Farms
Kupa’a Farms is an organic Kula farm specializing in organic produce and award-winning coffee. They offer a 2-hour informative tour of the farm by appointment and also farm-to-table dinner events, courses, workshops, and lectures.
Ocean Vodka
Ocean Vodka in Kula isn’t exactly “food”, but they do sell the only 100% USDA organic vodka in the world made from organic sugar cane and blended with deep ocean mineral water. It’s also naturally gluten-free and bottled in recycled glass containers. Their vodka contains no GMOs, herbicides, or pesticides.
O’o Farms
O’o Farm is a 8.5-acre Kula farm that exceeds organic standards, but is not certified USDA organic.
They offer unique tours where guests can pick and harvest their own ingredients into a community basket and then watch them prepared fresh by Chef JJ Johnson, offering a true farm-to-table experience.
Rodeo General Store
Rodeo General Store is easily the best place to buy organic produce, organic packaged goods, organic coffee, and organic beer in Makawao.
Surfing Goat Dairy
Surfing Goat Dairy is committed to clean and sustainable practices. They don’t use pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones or antibiotics in any of their products. Their goat cheese is made by adding organic cheese cultures and kosher salt to the pasteurized goat milk. All herbs, spices, and fruit in their cheeses are organic and grown in their orchard.
Upcountry Farmer’s Market
Maui’s Upcountry Farmers Market is one of the best and biggest markets on Maui. If you want to experience this market best, arrive early because some vendors sell out quick.
The Wednesday Market
Formerly the Makawao Farmer’s Market, the newly titled Wednesday Market is the only market in Maui with 100% organic, non-GMO products. They recently moved from Makawao to Kula but still operate every Wednesday from 9-1. They continue to accept foodstamps.
Alive and Well
Alive and Well is a natural foods store in Central Maui. It’s located conveniently in Kahului and offers a beautiful variety of organic foods, vitamins, and homeopathic medicines. They recently remodeled their store, and they also have a lovely cafe with fresh, tasty, and healthy menu items.
Costco
Surprisingly, Costco is the largest organic retailer in the country as well as the most affordable source for bulk organics on Maui. Organic items in the warehouse are conveniently marked both on the packaging and also on the price tag.
Down to Earth
Down to Earth is a small grocery chain comparable to Whole Foods in prices that features a similar, but slightly smaller selection of organic goods. They post a sign at the entrance showing the current percentage of organically sourced and locally sourced produce in the store. Their focus is on supporting local farmers and they buy produce from over 100 local farms.
Kumu Farms
Kumu Farms is part of the enormous Maui Tropical Plantation. Fresh produce from their fields is sold at their farm stand at the entrance to the plantation Tuesday-Saturday 10-4, with discounted produce offered on Saturdays. They also supply various Maui restaurants with their produce.
Whole Foods
Whole Foods offers over 10,000 organic products in their inventory and is one-stop shopping for household needs. They have their own organic brand, “395”, offering organic products at discounted prices. They also offer trusted organic brands like Wildwood, Kettle Chips, Nature’s Path, Bragg’s, Earthbound Farm, Organic Valley, Applegate and more.
Hana Fresh Farm Stand
Hana Fresh is an all-organic farm stand in Hana offering organic fruits and vegetables from their nearby farm. The Hana Fresh farm is a 7-acre piece of land growing over 100 different fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The farm stand is open Monday-Friday 8-3 and Saturday 9-3.
Hasegawa General Store
The Hasegawa General store in Hana is a fourth generation, family-owned store selling Hana Fresh and Hana Ranch organic produce, as well as handmade soaps, souvenirs, and fresh soup and chili. The store is a rare place to get food, drinks, supplies, and souvenirs on the road to Hana. Built in 1910, the store has become a historical attraction on the Hana Highway and the only grocery store to buy local, organic produce in the area.
Ono Organic Farm
Ono Organic Farms is a 50-acre farm in East Maui specializing in organic fruit, organic cacao, and organic coffee beans. The family-owned farm of 42 years recently started making organic bath products like dry rubs and bath butters. They are certified organic by International Certification Services.
The goal is to help
these tiny farms
succeed, even
without the costly
USDA certified
organic label
The bottom line with eating organic in Maui is that you can easily eat the highest quality, sustainably farmed products using organic farming methods, but most of what you eat is not USDA organic. There are a lot of stores and restaurants focusing on local over certified organic. The goal is to help these tiny farms succeed, even without the costly USDA certified organic label. If in doubt, ask! Most places will be happy to explain where their produce came from, especially since most of it traveled very few miles.