Keeping Veganism Alive
The final months of 2015 proved to be quite eventful for Danielle and her husband, Jeremy, the owners of Kihei’s vegan food truck, Earth Aloha Eats (formerly Aloha Joy). Around the time they were preparing to move to Maui, they watched a couple of documentaries, Cowspiracy and Vegucated. “The documentaries flipped our world,” Danielle recalls. “We threw out all our meat and made the decision to go vegan right away.
“I never cooked a lot, but I started trying to veganize things that we used to like. I ended up really enjoying cooking. It was cool and exciting, because it’s something I didn’t realize I would be passionate about. I created a beginner’s guide to veganism e-book, which I offer online for free.”
Going from authoring an e-book to operating a food truck is quite a jump, and it came about completely by accident.
Danielle recalls that “the previous owners were getting ready to move back to the mainland, and they jokingly asked us, ‘Why don’t you guys buy it?’”
It didn’t remain a joke for very long.
“Operating a food truck really wasn’t on our radar,” explains Danielle, “but we’re passionate about veganism. We wanted to keep the vegan message alive in Kihei, so we ended up buying it.” Earth Aloha Eats opened about six months ago.
Customers are a mix of vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters willing to try plant-based food. Veganized versions of popular dishes like Mexican street tacos, pulled “pork” fries and “chicken” wraps — what Danielle calls “naughty” vegan food — offer a comfort level for folks not quite ready to chow down on a lemon flax kale salad. “It’s really cool to see that a lot of people are enjoying the food.”
Danielle is bullish on the future. “Veganism is becoming more and more known, and more people are starting to raise awareness about what’s happening to our planet. There’s a change happening, and I’m excited to be a part of the journey.”
Earth Aloha Eats is located at 1 Piikea Avenue, Kihei, in the food truck section in the back of the mauka side of Azeka Mall. There’s something for everyone – wraps, bowls and plates, sandwiches, tacos, kombucha and desserts. With precious few plant-based restaurants on Maui, let’s support our only vegan food truck.