#school meal

The agreement supports implementation of Act 137 and advances the Hawai‘i State Department of Education’s ongoing efforts to increase local food procurement, including its goal of sourcing 30% of school meal ingredients locally by 2030.

Students at Kahaluʻu Elementary School enjoyed locally grown microgreens on their lunch plates this week, harvested just across the street from campus at Kupu Place. Because of the farm’s close proximity, the greens were picked Sunday, delivered Tuesday, and served to students Wednesday.

The Department, which serves over 103,000 meals per day to students statewide, plans to operate up to two regional kitchens on Oʻahu, two on Hawaiʻi Island and one each on Kauaʻi, Maui and Molokaʻi. Standalone production kitchens will continue at Hāna High & Elementary, Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary, Lānaʻi High & Elementary and Nāʻālehu Elementary schools.

Members of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s Keiki Caucus and community advocates on Wednesday, unveiled the 2026 Keiki Caucus Bill Package, comprised of five priority bills that address the health and welfare of Hawaiʻi’s youth.

Hawaiʻi public school cafeterias statewide offered students a fresh, locally grown rainbow salad with lunch this January, highlighting the Department’s continued commitment to farm-to-school efforts and student wellness. The colorful salad featured locally sourced lettuce, cucumbers, watercress and tomatoes, as available, along with carrots and purple cabbage.

The US Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program is seeking sponsor organizations on all islands to help provide children in low-income communities with free meals during the summer months.  The SFSP provides nutritious meals that help children to learn, play, and grow during the summer break when many schools are not in session.

Under the new federal law, those affected must complete an average of 80 hours per month (20 hours per week) in qualifying work or training activity. Acceptable activities include paid or self-employment, volunteer service with a government or nonprofit organization, or participation in job training programs such as SNAP Employment and Training, or services at American Job Centers.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education is encouraging families who have experienced a change in income due to furloughs or job losses from the federal government shutdown to apply for free or reduced-price meal benefits for the current school year.

SUN Bucks is a new and permanent program that provides $177 per eligible child in food benefits to help families during the summer months when access to school meals is limited.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., took action on 313 of the 321 bills enrolled during the 2025 regular session of the Hawai‘i State Legislature.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education announced that 68 public schools will offer free summer meals to children ages 18 and younger, starting June 12. Meals are available Monday through Friday through the USDA’s Seamless Summer Option program. Children do not need to be enrolled in public school to participate.

The Hawaiʻi State Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to Senate Bill 1300, to expand free school meal access to keiki in the ALICE population over the next two school years.

Participating Hawaiʻi public schools, including Moanalua Elementary, served green eggs and ham fried rice for breakfast this month, featuring local green onions. This special breakfast item is being featured in light of National Read Across America Week and National School Breakfast Week, both which took place in the first week of March.  The effort is […]

Participating Hawaiʻi public schools served banana sheet pancakes for breakfast this month, featuring local apple bananas. The effort is part of the Department’s farm-to-school initiative which aims to enhance food sustainability in Hawai‘i and aligns with Act 175, which focuses on improving the health of students while supporting local farmers.

In a continued effort to support the community after the Maui wildfires of 2023, the Rotary D5000 Fire Relief Fund has donated $48,160 to the Maui Preparatory Academy school lunch program for the fire-affected students and faculty. 

Summer EBT, also called SUN Bucks, is a new and permanent program to provide benefits to households with school-aged children to purchase food during the summer. Households will receive $177 for each qualifying child, to be spent during the summer months.

The US Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program is seeking sponsor organizations on all islands to help provide children in low-income communities with free meals during the summer months.

The lawmakers’ request for would help to alleviate burdens, providing thousands of students across the island with access to healthy, nutritious meals at no cost to their families as they deal with post-wildfire impacts.

Hawaiʻi’s reimbursement rate for school meals and other federal child nutrition programs has been increased to 30% above the continental US rates, which is projected to bring an additional $8 million a year to Hawaiʻi to support healthy meals for children.

The US Department of Agriculture this week announced that Hawaiʻi’s reimbursement rates for school lunch and other federal child nutrition programs will be increased by 13%.