Vegan Activist Jeremy Jarvis’ Public Journey with Cancer Has Come to an End

Photo from GoFundMe, https://www.gofundme.com/f/jeremy-jarvis-on-their-healing-journey

(Maui, Hawaii - February 12, 2026) - The public journey with cancer of Jeremy Jarvis, the Maui-based community organizer, radio DJ, and lifelong social justice activist known for their work in mutual aid, recovery support, punk and DIY culture, and vegan food justice, came to an end yesterday evening.

Early Life and Values

Jeremy was raised in Hawaiʻi by “granola crunching hippies” who instilled strong values of aloha, responsibility, and service to others. Those roots helped shape a lifelong identification as a social justice advocate and activist, with a consistent focus on supporting marginalized people and “underdogs” in the community.

Activism, organizing, and mutual aid

Jeremy was deeply involved in mutual-aid style grassroots work, including feeding people, supporting the unhoused, and participating in movements aligned with food justice and anti-war/anti-occupation organizing. They founded the Maui chapter of Food Not Bombs a decade ago to provide free plant-based meals and solidarity-based support rather than charity. Jeremy was also a welcome force at the annual protest against animal cruelty at the Makawao Rodeo. Friends describe them as someone who “dedicated their life to helping others,” mentoring people in crisis, and bringing care into spaces like jails, prisons, detox centers, hospitals, and recovery circles.

Vegan Chef, Radio DJ, and Cultural Work

Jeremy was known on Maui as an altruistic vegan chef who routinely cooked for anyone who was hungry, using food as an expression of solidarity and community-building. They were also a longtime DJ at Manaʻo Radio, Maui’s all-volunteer community station, where they have hosted shows including the punk and hardcore program “Minority Report” and the feel-good, funk/soul/R&B show “The Best Day Ever.” On air, they consciously used their platform to uplift marginalized communities, highlight underrepresented local artists, and share “revolutionary, feel-good music” that reflects their politics and commitment to liberation.

Recovery Work and Spiritual life

Jeremy was an active member of the recovery community for roughly two decades, with friends noting that when they first met Jeremy around twenty years ago, Jeremy was newly sober and already deeply engaged in recovery service. They spent years as a live-in volunteer at a Catholic Worker House, embracing Dorothy Day’s ethic of feeding the hungry and serving the poor and unhoused “without condition.” People close to Jeremy credit them as a formative mentor in their own long-term recovery and describe their approach as “radical” in its insistence on direct, lifesaving action and unwavering faith.

Image from Jeremy’s final Instagram post.

Cancer Diagnosis and Public Journey

Around 2019–2020, Jeremy was diagnosed with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, a head-and-neck cancer, and initially pursued holistic and non-conventional therapies with community support, which helped shrink the tumor for a time. As the cancer became more aggressive and less responsive, friends organized a fundraiser in 2023 to support them through radiation and chemotherapy on Maui, emphasizing how much they had already given to others.

In early 2025, Jeremy received a new diagnosis of metastatic colon cancer that had spread to their lungs and liver; a second fundraiser described this as likely their final illness and sought help for living, medical, and supportive-care expenses so they could focus on time with loved ones, mutual aid, and vegan food rather than financial stress. Through these challenges, Jeremy remained publicly grounded in spiritual practice, asking that messages and prayers be filled with “light and hope” and modeling acceptance in the face of serious illness.

Role in Maui’s Community

Within Maui’s overlapping scenes—punk and DIY music, community radio, recovery spaces, radical hospitality, vegan and food-justice circles, and Palestine solidarity and mutual aid—Jeremy was widely regarded as a connector who bridged groups that “don’t often overlap.”

Social media and community tributes portray them as a “cherished community member” on Maui and beyond, someone who made others feel seen, heard, and loved, and who consistently used every available platform—kitchen, mic, or street—to build a more compassionate and just world.

This image is from Jeremy’s final Instagram post.

Sources

“Jeremy has agreed to western treatment”
Community-organized fundraiser describing Jeremy Jarvis as a Maui-based social justice activist, vegan chef, recovery community member, and Manaʻo Radio DJ beginning radiation and chemotherapy for head-and-neck cancer.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/jeremy-jarvis-on-their-healing-journey

“Help Jeremy Live Out Their Final Months in Security & Joy”
Fundraiser detailing Jeremy’s metastatic colon cancer diagnosis, decades of recovery and Catholic Worker service, mutual aid and mentorship work, and need for support with living and medical costs.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jeremy-in-their-fight-against-metastatic-cancer

“Vegan News for May 2019” – Maui Vegan Life
Local vegan news listing a “Soulful Sunday” benefit event for Jeremy Jarvis, describing them as a vegan activist and radio DJ, showing community recognition of their activism.
https://www.mauiveganlife.com/articles/may-2019

“Mahalo to Mana’o Radio, Maui’s Community Station”
Article on Manaʻo Radio, Maui’s volunteer-run community station, providing context for the role and culture of the station where Jeremy has DJ’d and hosted politically conscious music programming.
https://www.radiosurvivor.com/2018/03/mahalo-to-manao-radio-mauis-community-station/

“New Wave Chicken issue 10 – 23-year story of love and loss on Maui” – Reddit post
Brief summary: Zine announcement mentioning that one feature is the story of Jeremy Jarvis, described as a radio DJ and political activist whose life and work on Maui are profiled.
https://www.reddit.com/r/zines/comments/1p1ene0/new_wave_chicken_issue_10/

“New Wave Chicken Fanzine” – Reddit discussion
Brief summary: Earlier post about the New Wave Chicken zine, again referencing Jeremy Jarvis as a radio DJ and political activist and situating their story in the context of Maui’s punk and DIY culture.
URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/zines/comments/1oabs5q/new_wave_chicken_fanzine/

“Have you picked up Fluke 19: The Mail Art issue?”
Promotional reel for a zine that describes New Wave Chicken #10 as including the story of Jeremy Jarvis, “radio DJ and political activist,” reinforcing their dual identity in media and activism.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCt-VB_viYp/

Post from a Maui for Palestine action that includes a photo shared by Jeremy Jarvis, linking them to contemporary Maui-based Palestine solidarity and anti-war activism.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAEaSMXydju/

Podcast listing referencing a conversation with Jeremy Jarvis associated with yoga teaching and social activism, noting their Maui, Hawaiʻi connection and providing a way to connect via Instagram.
https://music.amazon.com/es-cl/podcasts/6945724c-f63c-4007-8641-a46a883575c4/the-yoga-trade-podcast