By J. Eston Dunn
Since his arrival on campus as the director of Food Services 20 years ago, students and staff have said David Keala’s innovative mind has won their admiration.
“Everyone loves him from the tops down,” said Club Director Marilou Lee. “We love David as our manager because of his amiability, respect, and hard work ethic.”
Executive Chef Spencer Tan said, “David loves to see growth in the staff and fixes issues immediately. My only critique is that he spends too much time at work.”
One of Keala’s accomplishments, according to staff and co-workers, is his creation of the bi-weekly BYU–Hawaii Farmer’s Market in 2002.
Looking for a market
The Farmer’s Market came to fruition a few years after Keala arrived, according to Tan. Keala searched the island for ideas for a market. Keala said, “We started by looking into other farmer’s markets and visiting every market on the island. We even traveled to others in the mainland to figure out what would make ours work.
“Originally we invited a few vendors to participate. It began in [the] Seasider with five tables and from there we invited more farmers. It moved from Seasider and now into the ballroom. We’re always looking for feedback and ways to improve.”
Examples of improvement, according to Keala, was the student leadership initiative to increase the diversity of plate lunches at the market and the market’s practice of buying wholesale produce from the farmers to decrease their stress of missing time in the fields to sell their products.
According to Tan, much of the success comes from the combined efforts of the front of house, the back of house and the director. “It started small, only a few vendors, but has gotten bigger every year from $2,000 in revenue when we started to $10,000 now.”
Tan continued, “It actually beat other farmer’s markets in the area because they don’t have a chef.” One of his main responsibilities, he explained, as a chef, was to keep plate lunches marketable through high quality and low price. This commodity attracts a wider range of customers to the market and ultimately makes for a profitable venture.
“There’s always something new to try,” Keala added. Recently, this has included a crepe stand hosted by Food Services along with businesses, like Dole and Kevita, trying to promote their brands through samples.
Student entrepreneurship at the Farmer’s Market
Keala said he encourages student involvement in the market. He said, “[The Farmer’s Market] is the chance for students to show their entrepreneurship skills and operates kind of like a laboratory for student business. We ought to have more participants.”
Keala continued to reference certain successful student products that began at the Farmers Market. Notably a pants business that started a few years ago and was purchased by the BYUH Bookstore.
The requirements for becoming a vendor at the Farmer’s Market include: Filing a vendor application, receiving approval from the Farmer’s Market committee on the proposed business, and a willingness to arrive early and stay later for setup and take down.
Anyone interested in becoming a vendor can click here to get started.
The Farmer’s Market continues to be held on payday Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Aloha Center Ballroom until the end of the Spring Semester. The Farmer’s Market will resume in the fall.