Kauai Community College Farmers’ Market

Lunch, fruits are rip off this market avoid here go other market bought 2 white pineapple for $ 45 I thought that’s normal price after found out it’s only $ 5 – 8 piece I m not appreciated local farmer rip off ppl like that. Never recommend to anyone

We stopped at this farmers market on a well-​timed drive from Princeville out to Waimea Canyon, but it probably would have been worth the trip all on its own. They have both plenty of produce and plenty of prepared foods for sale, ranging from goat cheese with passionfruit purée (delicious and a nice match) to white pineapple — an elusive fruit that we’d been instructed to track down at all costs.
White pineapple, it turns out, is a lot like yellow pineapple, except more balanced, less acidic, and you can eat more of it (including the core) without ill effect. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to name it the most perfect food on earth, as one booster told us it was, but they had a machine that pureed pieces of frozen white pineapple into a dream-​like sorbet, that certainly might be the best frozen fruit dessert I can remember eating.
Also, we probably saw more people in one place at this market than we did anyplace else on the island.

Had a great time here. This farmers market has it all. We bought fruit, nuts, had lunch. You must try the sugarloaf pineapple! Simply amazing!

Macadamia nut honey is awesome!
A variety of fresh fruits and veggies for sale. Some unique to Kauai. thankfully, the try before you buy spirit is alive and well here. That is always a relief when you are considering a fruit or veg that you haven’t seen before. What if it looked good but tasted like crap. On that note, even if it does look freaky, the rambutan was wonderful. Not as sweet as the longan but same idea. A lot of interesting things here to enjoy. Poke, coffee infused nuts and a sugarloaf pineapple frosty were among my favs. All were fresh and worthy of my praise.
Aloha spirit everywhere. Cool place.

This farmers market is a little bit of a tourist trap… things are more expensive here than other farmers markets and quality is not as good. I think they know that they’re the largest farmers market and on a saturday, so they get a lot of guaranteed traffic.
The one thing I do give them credit for is very good rambutans — there was a vendor that had them front and center in their stall. And prices were pretty reasonable for those.
But yeah the fresh coconut juice from another vendor was kinda sour and a bit immature, and *nothing* like the perfectly mature ones we got at Coconut Marketplace famers market (where there was only 1 coconut juice vendor). Then the Hawaiian oranges were 2x the price of the ones at Kukui Grove farmers market and not as sweet. Other examples too, but no need to go on.

decently priced fresh local produce. the highlight was hanalei taro juice stand taro mochi cake!

This was the best farmer’s market we found. Awesome ginger soda from Hanalei tar & juice food truck. I meant to try the mochi bread, but bummed I forgot to go back and buy some. Yum sugarloaf white pineapple and great place to buy homemade goods for gifts. Although note: do not carry on the guava curd in your carry on suitcase! I didn’t realize «creams» of sorts fits into the 3oz. rule. Be sure to put in your check in luggage!

Stumbled across the farmers market on a Saturday morning. Giving 5 stars for the sugarloaf pineapple phrostie — soft serve that is made with 100% white pineapple. The farmer’s market also has a variety of other stands with baked goods, fresh fruit and food carts. Lots of parking in the Kauai Community College lot.

This place is probably better if you’re in town for a few days. We were leaving this day so didn’t get much. The plus: there is a coconut guy who will open it for you and you can drink the water. The minus: the water was nasty and the coconuts weren’t worth it. The roadside ones are where you want to go.
We did get to try the sugar loaf pineapple — can’t believe that’s all natural. So then we bought some to eat as we walked. That was the only stop that had that option. If other fruit stands offered samples, then we might have been more inclined to buy more fruit.

Kauai is known as the Garden Isle.
Farmers Market?
OBVIOUSLY.
Fruity finds included Sugarloaf pineapple nirvana ($ 5), a ripe papaya ($ 1), a gorgeous bright fuschia dragonfruit ($ 4), and an underwhelming apple banana (tasted like an unripe banana).
Locally made gifty finds included Kauai Nut Roasters’ unique nut concoctions (hellooo spiced rum mix)($ ¹¹⁄₃ large bags) and Moloa’a Bay 70% dark chocolate ($ 6).
Breakfast finds included a couple breakfast burritos (~$ 24) and some Macadamia Sticky Buns for «later.»

the Saturday farmers market at KCC should be on your list of things to experience while on Vacation… wear sunscreen, bring a hat and a recyclable bag and enjoy the experience. Local vegetables that you probably won’t find at your grocery store back home, fresh fruits in season, and you get to support local farmers. The sugarloaf pineapple is always a hit, and you can even get it shipped to you… fresh cut exotic flowers to brighten up your Hale (home) while on vacation. Get there as soon as the market opens for the best selection and cooler temperatures.

I love going to farmers’ markets in new places.
If you are looking for the sought-​after Sugarloaf Pineapples… go as early as you can. They sale out and then you don’t get to try the best pineapples I have ever tried!
If you go to more than one of these farmers’ markets on Kauai, chances are you will run into the same people, but that is ok. Because you will find something you love and need a replacement for your luggage on the way home.
The produce is varied, and the homemade jams/​cookies etc will give you endless choices. A couple of my favorite vendors were Ko Bakery (who did our delicous Lilikoi wedding cake), Ono Pops (strawberry goat cheese!), and Salty Wahine Sea Salts. There is also dried bananas called Nana’s Bananas (get the chocolate dipped ones).
They don’t have much in the way of food-​to-​go vendors; about 3. But the Hanalei Taro Company had excellent laulau and my husband tried the Puerto Rican stand that was delicious (he just had no idea what it was).

This market is quite big (50 – 75 vendors or more?), and if you can stand the wait for a parking space, it’s a good change of pace from your normal island tourist activities (i.e., swimming, sunburning, eating, and sleeping).
Parking:
It’s at the community college, of course, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that there’s ample parking and that you can just zip right in and park. No, because EVERYONE is there, including a lot more locals than I’ve seen at other island farmer’s markets, which I find a big plus. I went there about 1 hour after it started and still had to wait through the line-​up at the traffic light to get into the parking lot. It was worth it, though.
What you’ll find:
Here you’ll find some of the same vendors you’ve seen at other farmer’s markets, such as Haole Girl selling croissant and macadamia sticky buns (so delicious), Hawaiian Health selling Noni Fruit Leather and lotions, Monkeypod Jam selling jams, Salty Wahine selling salts and rubs, and so on. You’ll also find locally made honey, lots of produce, crafts and gifts, plants for local gardens, food trucks and food stands (I liked the stand selling fresh Cuban cuisine), and learn from the info booth about introduced animals and plants endangering Hawaiian flora and fauna. There was also a small farm animal petting zoo and some crafting projects for young children.
Why it’s worth going:
To really feel a connection to the local community. To support the local community. To eat a good lunch. To get some fresh fruit or veggies to supplement your typical tourist intake of sautéed, fried, or grilled this and that over a bed of rice with a such-​and-​such coulis. To get gifts to take back home with you. To see what local people care about. To do something different. To stretch your legs. This market is so big, I’d venture to say that if this is the only farmer’s market you went to, and drove around the island to get to, it would be worth it.
How long you might spend there:
If you’re really focused, you could buzz through the market in at least 30 minutes, but you could easily spend over an hour there, relaxing and enjoying as many booths as you and your group can take in.

First of all, I enjoy supporting local products. KCC farmer’s market is a one stop shop for me. I can have breakfast then buy vegetables then have lunch and buy fruits then get my son some dessert. They have different vendors who sell fruits & vegetables, herbs, honey, goat cheese, juices, and food trucks from Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, to Filipino cuisine.
Sometimes the months and seasons vary on prices of vegetables. But not to mention that it’s way cheaper and fresher than the grocery stores.

Come here Saturday morning for some fresh fruit and local products.
Vendors are friendly and there’s plenty of parking
Not huge. Maybe 3 rows total

When we arrived in Kauai, we made the obligatory stop at Costco to stock up on beer/​booze/​wine and other essentials to sustain us during our stay. The fruit and produce at Costco are the same «sweat-​shop» items you get on the mainland. Mexican, Chilean and other «imported» crap, that gets «ripened» in the back of a truck en-​route the warehouse.
Fortunately for us, the Kauai Community Farmers’ Market was held the day after our arrival. We stopped in and got some AMAZING, LOCAL, produce. We bought farm-​fresh (free range) eggs, local mushrooms, coconut, mango, papaya, ghost peppers and tomatoes. Everything was fantastic! The fruit was incredibly sweet and delicious.
There were some food trucks and we got fresh street tacos, Spam masubi and a curry bowl. All were delectable.
The vibe was very friendly and local. Everyone was happy and having a great time. This place rocks!

A typical farmers’ market, like anywhere else in the country. For tourists, this is great though! Experience local products that you might not find elsewhere, along with food from vendors that may only be sold there. Check it out if you’re in the area, but don’t traverse the entire island just for this.

This is the best farmers market in Kauai for organic produce! They open right on time, at 9:30am on Sat (no early entry) and goes until 1pm. Park at the community college, and walk over. Lots of fresh, organic, non-​GMO fruits and vegitables! Kauai is very proud to stay natural and GMO Free, so you will see a lot of farmers supporting the movement.
I found fruits I was not familiar with: Mountain apple (tastes like pear & apple) and chico (cinnamon brown sugar taste), and so many other fresh produce I am not able to find on mainland… I honestly wanted to take the whole market back home! Many stands sold GMO-​free hawaiian papayas, which are mostly GMO on mainland. There’s a musubi stand that sells pork/​egg musubi. omg, delicious! One stand sells soursop juice, which is known to cure cancer (they didn’t say that, but I’ve read about it elsewhere). I would come visit this market every week if I lived in Kauai. It was awesome!

A really comfortable farmer’s market with plenty of quality island selections.
Enjoyed looking and tasting the local fruits and learning some of the healing foods.

$ 7.00 for a pineapple! Super expensive produce
Flan was a 5, true Brazilian flan made with sweet condensed milk.
Puerto Rican arroz con gandules was mediocre. But portion size was good for $ 5
Local honey was really good, bummer only sold 6 – 8 ounces too big for carry on luggage unfortunately.
Happy we went to have a quick bite to eat before heading to the beach but I think for a local farmers market too expensive.