"You can die anytime, but living takes true courage." -- Kenshin Himura…read more What a wonderful health food store & gift shop. If you're wondering: "Locavore" is a person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food. Add a bunch of uniques gift ideas by Big Island artists and life is complete. Located in the heart of old town Hilo on Kilauea Avenue is where you'll find Locavore or as locals will know it's next to Ben Franklin. The staff of Sam and Audrey were genuinely kind and welcoming. I was most impressed with their knowledge of products and pride in what they had to offer. My sister (who I was visiting) purchased fresh non-GMO produce and pickled namasu. Since I was visiting Hilo I chose unique stickers and postcards to take home with me. I really felt a warm peaceful vibe while browsing around The Locavore Store. On a Sunday afternoon it was filled with curious customers. Health conscience hippies, those looking for island arts & crafts, and a few locals living la viva Locavore lifestyle. What a fab gem in old town Hilo. Til next time... Pls follow my adventures IG: @eric_travel_guru

This place is amazing! There are so many local products. Not only does Locavore have many…read morevegetarian and vegan products but they also carry local meats as well. One of the things I really love is that they highlight Kanaka owned business and products. The staff is nice as well! The first time I went I ended up going back the next day.

The KitKat bags looks old and when I checked they expired three months ago. After we left I saw the…read morecandy my kids' got expired 4 months ago. I didn't know you were allowed to sell expired food. Nice smaller selection of specialty jerky, but I guess just check the expirations dates before you buy anything.

I wanted to try their Filipino Adobo Jerky and it was very very dry. I wouldn't recommend it.read more

When in Hilo, two must stop places are Two Ladies mochi and George's meat market! Back before 9/11…read moreever took place, we would stop at George's with our cooler bag and stock up on prepared meats (oxtail being my favorite) and head back to Oahu. Once 9/11 occurred it made stopping at George's a little more effort so that we could get frozen meat back home without ice. However, George's came up with their absolutely delicious thin beef jerkies and that has been a must buy ever since!! And now, they have the best snacks and energy bars! I've not been able to go lately but a friend of mine was gracious enough to offer to purchase for me and bring it back to me!! I feel ever so lucky to have bags of beef jerky and energy bars in my hands!! Hoping to get to George's myself soon!!

They also sell Gluten free pasta for Italy, Excellent extra…read moreVirgin Olive oil and good from Italy!

Happened upon the Akaka Falls Farm booth at a farmer's market in Hilo a couple months ago. Steve,…read morethe main man, was very assertive in trying to rein in passersby; but, it turns out, in a good way. He was extremely generous in handing out as many samples as we desired. Thery were all good. He even asked about our preferences, so as to narrow down his recommendations. I was particularly intrigued by one flavor that included whiskey. When all was said and done, we'd ordered a boxful of eight jars to be mailed to our home, which arrived just a couple days after we returned home. Great little business, great experience.

The products are good but the pricing has gotten to be stupid. I bought two 9 oz jars at the…read moreWaimea farmers market and it was $50. Way over priced now. That is taking advantage of tourist pricing......

Started in 2009 for the communities of the North Hilo and Hamakua Districts it has gone through…read moremany phases and still keeps bringing the Goodness of the Land to Local people and a few tourists. For Vendors it was free for 15 years and now it's $30 per year. It's fun and right next to Hakalau Veterans Park with it's large field, ball park and jungle background. Best Thai food around, organic vegies and fruit, and baked goods galore.

Arrived around 7:50 am on Sunday and had no issues parking ($2 well worth it). The variety of…read moreMaku'u Farmers market is unmatched- gorgeous fruit stands, lots of prepared food stands. The papaya salad was so fresh and at ($9) for a whole quart so affordable and easy to share with friends. The papaya stand was my favorite one as she makes the salad fresh in front of you. The purple tapioca potato pudding was so dense and interesting, really rich and lovely to try. I was also blown away by the macadamia nut croissant ($6), the croissant itself was fine, flaky and well baked, but the macadamia nut butter frangipane filling for the croissant stole the show. It was so decadent and sweet I savored every bite of the croissant! The marinated goat cheeses from the goat cheese stand were the most delicious goat cheese I've had in my life. Super creamy, luscious, silky and with interesting flavors. I grabbed two spicy goat cheeses I was so obsessed. There is so much to see eat and try! Happy I got to experience the Maku'u Farmers Market

Maku'u Farmer's Market only operates on Sundays so its a great place to stop by especially when a…read morelot of establishments have limited hours or closed for the day. This is a newer Farmer's market and popular with locals compared to the Downtown Hilo Farmer's Market located at oceanfront. Remember to bring $2 cash for parking and come early because by noon, the lot seemed to be filling up fast and many cars were lining up on the freeway to enter.

I was quite disappointed when I opened the "spicy" goat cheese. The strongest smell/taste was onion…read moreor chives or some similar spice. I was expecting chile. Speaking as one who does not digest or enjoy onion or garlic I would think that the label would have mentioned the actual ingredients. I thought that was a requirement on all food labels? It would be a good idea to list the actual spices used on the label.

Hands down best goat cheese I've ever had. I love to share it with other people and all of the…read moreflavors are consistent and phenomenal I've had goat cheeses from all over none arr as flavorful as these

Very interesting I learned a lot about the vanilla orchid and how labor intensive the process of…read moregrowing and harvesting vanilla beans is

On May 16 I finally found another vanilla fanatic to go with me to visit the vanilla farm for…read morelunch. I had bought the 4 oz extract a year ago at the gift shop and still have some, so decided to splurge with the 5 course lunch, with vanilla used in each dish. From popcorn to vanilla ice cream dessert, each course was exquisite. There are two main courses - one vegetarian and the other with a chicken sandwich. While I found the sandwich uninteresting, the "thrice cooked" potatoes and salad, using honey peppered pecans, were amazing. The vegetarian pastry option with red pepper and cream cheese was nice and I will indulge in that next time. And there will be a next time. An inventive, tasty meal using the farm's vanilla in each dish and worth the drive to Pauillo from Kona. We were served out on the lanai, in a casual, pleasant atmosphere. There were about 15 guests. Although I went for the lunch, the tour was very informative. Zach squeezed in more info in 60 minutes than I could possibly absorb, so guess I must go back. He is wonderfully enthusiastic and The shop has great things but the best is the vanilla extract, which is very concentrated so will last a while. At $45 for a 4 oz bottle, it is not cheap, but after learning how labor intensive harvesting vanilla is, it is actually a bargain. I will never buy cheap imitation vanilla again. I also bought the vanilla honeyed pecans, used in the salad, and they won't last the week. Correction. They didn't last two days.....incredibly addictive. I finished them off in two days. All vanilla produced by this company is used in Hawaii, mostly for Roselani vanilla ice cream and for root beer. So the tour and lunch are good value even for a non vanilla fanatic. The company offers a kama'aina discount, and I will definite do this tour and lunch again. One of the founder's sons is sometimes at the Parker school Saturday farmer's market in Waimea and sells root beer floats with this product in both the Roselani ice cream and the root beer. The floats are out of sight. I cannot recommend this tour and lunch highly enough. All my visitors will go to the farm unless they are allergic to vanilla.