There is some cautious optimism for the future of the state’s Farm to School program.
The goal of the state Department of Education program is to use local agriculture to feed students.
The education department serves about 100,000 meals a day and is often referred to as the “state’s largest restaurant.” Advocates see it as a positive for both local farmers and students.
During his opening remarks at the start of this year’s legislative session, Senate President Ron Kouchi showed his support for growing the statewide program.
He said a similar one will be launched for Kauaʻi’s public schools.
“It is clear that with better nutrition, you get better outcomes. And on Kauaʻi we have 15 school principals with 15 cafeteria managers with a complex area superintendent who are all committed to that. … So, we are launching on Kauaʻi this Farm to School program for a whole school district,” he said.
Kouchi’s support for Farm to School was a welcome surprise for Dennis Chase, program manager for the Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute’s Farm to School Hui.
“We were very excited to hear what he had to say about Farm to School. I think what was very important is that he said that increased nutrition leads to increased performance,” Chase said.
Act 175, a law passed in 2021, established the program within the education department. The law also gave it a goal to source 30% of the food it serves from local sources by 2030.
“Sen. Kouchi actually went beyond that, saying that he wanted DOE to have half of the food on their plate made up of local food. That would be something like a 50% by 2050 goal that we would be very happy to see and very happy to support,” Chase said.
Kouchi’s comments followed a shake-up within the DOE that could also bode well for the Farm to School program.
A host of related bills last year was well-supported in the House of Representatives, where they were introduced before they died in the Senate.
Randy Tanaka, former assistant superintendent with the DOE Office of Facilities and Operations, was the primary opponent of those bills and had expressed concerns about their implementation costs and logistical difficulties.
But last month Tanaka was replaced with Interim Assistant Superintendent Audrey Hidano.
During the two years that Tanaka oversaw Farm to School progress, stakeholders were dissatisfied with the program’s slow movement and the department’s vague plans to move it along.
They had supported the use of scratch kitchens at DOE schools, while Tanaka pushed the construction of commercial kitchens.
Farm to School advocates also pointed to the department’s Farm to School coordinator position, which was created by Act 175, that had been unfulfilled until August.
