They help Hawai‘i take steps to a healthier future

Josiah Morita and Tyler Shimabukuro, Co-Founders @ Healthy Steps Hawaiʻi

“I know nothing about cooking.”

That’s what Josiah Morita told me. Tyler Shimabukuro agreed.

But the two of them will soon release a cookbook.

That’s right, two guys who don’t cook will release a cookbook.

Skeptical? So was I.

Now hold on, it makes more sense with a bit more context.

The cookbook is part of a project at Josiah and Tyler’s non-profit, Healthy Steps Hawai‘i. Rest assured, professional chefs and doctors are contributing to it, and it will feature healthier alternatives to famous local recipes.

They have a simple question.

“You can have local food, but can you make substitutes here and there that will help you live a healthier life?”

That question helps shape their mission, and the cookbook is just one way the duo is using their non-profit to reach that goal of inspiring healthier lives.

Here is their story.

Josiah is a college student attending George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and Tyler is a recent graduate of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Both are aspiring doctors (again, not aspiring chefs) who see a future where they can help local people.

I’m sure you want to know the answer to the million-dollar question: How the heck did two college students end up founding a non-profit?

Rewind 1 year to August 2023.

Josiah and Tyler worked together at the Queens Summer Research Internship, where they got to conduct research and shadow doctors and medical experts.

There they learned about the social determinants of health: things that lie beyond what you “normally” think of as healthcare. For example, economic instability and food insecurity can have negative impacts on health.

The cheapest or most easily accessible foods are not always the healthiest foods.

At lunch one day, Josiah and Tyler got to talking.

“We are both kind of dreamers. We like to ask, what if?” Josiah said.

The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population already has higher rates of diabetes and hypertension. A large part of that, they agreed, is due to ono but unhealthy local food.

They had this spur of the moment idea: why don’t we make a cookbook? It would give people resources to make small, healthier substitutions.

That idea turned into a larger project. They took some time to redefine their vision. Then…their non-profit Healthy Steps Hawaiʻi was up and running (or walking?).

Their Mission and action.

Josiah and Tyler want to inspire healthier habits by tackling the social determinants of health.

But starting a non-profit is way different than making a cookbook. They were now faced with a dilemma: how to actually run it.

While I thought the cookbook idea was interesting, I wanted to know what makes these guys eager to do it. I needed to understand the why. Why bother putting in all this time and energy?

Tyler told me that from a young age, he was always around sports and his kūpuna.

“I had a lot of mentors, the kūpuna around me,” Tyler said, “They taught me a lot of lessons.”

Tyler wants to give back to them.

“Ever since I can remember, we were in the church handing out things,” Josiah told me.

Josiah and Tyler, both being from Mānoa, wanted to give back to the community that gave so much to them.

To reach this goal, they also host volunteer events. In their most recent event, they partnered with Ronald McDonald House to create burrito bowls for the families staying there.

These families all have sick children seeking treatment on Oʻahu. Josiah and Tyler made sure that the food they were giving all had a healthier alternative ingredient.

Here they are in action ⬇️

If you’ve got the money, I’ve got the time.

At least that’s what Willie Nelson reiterated in 1976.

And for Josiah and Tyler, it boils down to one word.

Fundraising.

The duo has a strong mission and amazing ideas to get there, but soon into their non-profit entrepreneurial journey, they ran into that all too common question.

“Where’s the money gonna come from?”

Emails. More emails. Even more emails.

The duo told me they spend most of their time drafting outreach emails.

They even had to figure out how to write grant applications. I asked them where they learned to do this.

“Trial and error,” they told me.

So far, they have raised enough money to keep the non-profit going. However, they have ideas for how they want to grow.

They want to branch out to food trucks. They want to support sports teams. They have a vision for a community center that promotes healthier habits.

All of those are goals to work toward as they are in the “startup” stages of their non-profit.

2 Takeaways from my conversation with Josiah and Tyler

1. Sometimes “You just gotta ask”

I found the duo’s fundraising dilemma to be one of the most important takeaways. It takes a lot of courage to ask for something; it takes even more courage to ask strangers for money.

It’s also something that isn’t taught in the track of a standard education. It forces you to get out of your comfort zone.

And that’s the thing Tyler and Josiah have learned:

Sometimes you just gotta ask.

2. Finding a good business partner is important.

Imagine if Josiah and Tyler couldn’t get along. They surely would not have started Healthy Steps, and if they did, it would have been a recipe (no pun intended) for disaster.

While interviewing them, their dynamic cracked me up.

I asked them about their passions and hobbies. Then Tyler joked:

“We’re like lowkey the same person.”

I have no credibility to prescribe “the best” type of business partnership, but I can’t help but feel that Josiah and Tyler’s personal dynamic helps the non-profit immensely.

As always, it’s refreshing to see motivated people on a mission to make Hawaiʻi a better place.

Till next time.

K 🤙 🤙

John Vierra