The state Department of Education has updated its school breakfast and lunch menus to offer more locally sourced foods such as ʻulu, kalo, ʻuala, and seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Lyle Hasegawa, the food services manager at Holomua Elementary in ʻEwa Beach, said they're always looking to refresh the menus to keep them engaging and desirable for the keiki.
“What can we do better, what can we make, what do you think the kids will like? If we stay stagnant, kids won’t want to come to lunch,” Hasegawa said.
“We have to make sure we can procure the products and see if our schools, all the schools, can equally produce it. And then fitting it in nutritional-wise is a big puzzle. Even this year, to get this many products and this many new menus going, it was a big task, and I think they did well.”
Students can expect to see foods like chicken adobo and ʻulu banana bread offered for lunch. The department is also starting a monthly event featuring scratch-made recipes that highlight Hawaiʻi's variety of food.
The updates are part of the department’s larger effort to increase the amount of locally sourced ingredients and foods.
Menus can be found on each school's website in the cafeteria section.
