Gifts that Give Back: Keiki Kaukau
Curstyn Yoshimoto
Through her partnership with Hawai‘i Foodbank, founder of Keiki Kaukau April Hail helps nourish local keiki with her Hawai‘i-themed toy sets.
Keiki Kaukau, meaning “kid food” in Hawaiian, is a local toy company featuring unique Hawai‘i-themed wooden toys, books and puzzles that introduce keiki to the diverse cultures and cuisines of the islands while they play. Since its launch in 2019, Keiki Kaukau has supported Hawai‘i Foodbank’s mission by donating 3% of its sales to provide more nutritious meals to local keiki in need.
Keiki Kaukau was established by Hawai‘i mom April Hail when she took a break from high school teaching to raise her growing family. “It was in that time I had noticed that there was this absence of culturally informed toys that reflected all the beauty and diverse cultures of Hawai‘i — specifically the food thing because my two-year-old was really into playing pretend food,” she explains.
The original Keiki Kaukau play food set was born from April’s idea to bring Hawai‘i foods to toys. It features local favorites like loco moco, musubi and papaya. “I never intended to build it into a business,” she says. “But it kind of just snowballed from there, and I found that I enjoyed creating products.”
Some other popular Keiki Kaukau items include the “Local Favorites Collection” of wooden puzzles, featuring foods from the classic Hawaiian plate to Filipino dishes and dim sum.
Since its launch in 2019, Keiki Kaukau has supported Hawai‘i Foodbank’s mission by donating a percentage of all sales to support Food 4 Keiki.
“A lot of kids growing up maybe had that feeling like their culture’s food was not accepted,” April says. “Bringing elements of Hawaiian culture, as well as other cultures that we have here, more to the fore where kids can see themselves and their families represented in this physical way — I think there’s something validating in that experience.”
About her collaboration with the Foodbank, April shares that “When I started with the original play food set, I knew that I wanted to have some sort of community partnership built-in, just as a small way to give back to this place that has given me so much. The Foodbank was a natural fit for that.”
“I was aware of (hunger) because my mom grew up in poverty,” says April. “She would tell me that sometimes she would have to choose between filling her stomach and having bus fare to get home.”
I think Hawaii Foodbank’s work is so important — just to give families a sense of security and support in meeting those needs.
“Experiencing hunger — not knowing for sure when or what your next meal is going to be — can impact you very quickly, especially with children who are developing and who we want to learn and be able to focus in schools. To have food insecurity, I think that can have really debilitating effects, which is why I think Hawai‘i Foodbank’s work is so important — just to give families a sense of security and support in meeting those needs,” she says.
To date, Keiki Kaukau has helped provide food for over 112,000 meals.
Visit the Current Promotions page to learn more about Keiki Kaukau and a variety of other creative ways to support Hawai‘i Foodbank in the community.
