I’ll never forget one of my favorite childhood stories about a man who was granted permission to visit both Heaven and Hell.
An Angel first escorted the man to Hell. To his great surprise, he passed through ornate golden gates to a beautifully landscaped garden. As he walked farther, the tantalizing aroma of a luscious gourmet meal caught his attention.
The man was astounded as he entered a richly decorated dining hall with tables as far as the eye could see, laden with platters of sumptuous food. However, the people seated at this magnificent feast were miserable, emancipated and moaning with hunger. Upon closer inspection, he saw that each person held a very long spoon and their arms were splinted with wooden slats so that they were unable to bring the food to their mouths.
Unable to bear such anguish, the man asked the Angel to take him to Heaven.
As the man approached Heaven, he could hardly believe his eyes as he encountered the same golden gates and lush gardens. However, upon entering Heaven’s great dining hall, he encountered a very different scene. Although the Heavenly diners also had long spoons and splinted arms, they were healthy and joyous, delighting in each others’ company as they shared their delicious meal. The man’s heart was lifted as he watched the Heavenly diners feed their neighbors and friends by reaching across the tables with their long spoons. It was then that the man understood that Heaven and Hell offered the same circumstances and conditions to every guest.
The only difference was in the way that people treated each other and considered their neighbor’s well-being as much as their own.
However, just as the allegory of the long spoons demonstrates, the way to nourishment and healing lies less in the circumstances and more in the way in which we choose to address them.
I feel blessed to be home in Hawai’i during this time as islands are historically places of quarantine. This is an awesome advantage, as we have plenty of clean air, pure water, cleansing sunlight, and healthy soil and can use it to our benefit!
Long Spoon Farms is a Kaimuki Community based non profit project that assists and encourages neighbors to grow home based vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens. Neighbors with home gardens will share and trade their harvest with other Long Spoon Farmers.
It seems to me that growing our own food is like printing our own money!
During this initial stage, we will be working to:
- Build social media connections.
- Obtain discounts for seeds, plants, and farming supplies for our members.
- Organize online forums for sharing, education, and tips for successful planting, care and harvesting, as well as communicating Long Spoon Farms news and events.
- Organize Long Spoon Farms cooperative farmers’ markets to share the bounty of our harvests.
Long Spoon Farms applies this parable to feeding our neighbors during this unique and challenging time.


Kaleolani Leo
