A proposal to give Hawaiʻi's public school students free meals is once again on the table at the state Legislature.
On Wednesday the House Committee on Finance moved along House Bill 1779, which would give all students free breakfast and lunch at school starting with the 2029-2030 school year. The measure also includes public charter school students.
The goal of the proposal is to reduce food insecurity among Hawaiʻi’s children. Proper nutrition also impacts students’ academic performance.
The state Department of Health, in written testimony, said, “Providing universal free school meals enhances the nutritional intake of students and promotes equitable access to the opportunity to learn and engage in school.”
A universal school meals program has been proposed at the Legislature before, and itʻs usually met with pushback from state Department of Education officials due to concerns about the logistics and costs.
“We wouldn't be getting sales from those meals, and it would increase the food cost as well,” said Sean Tajima, assistant superintendent with the DOE.
The department said that it would be out $16 million annually from public school students who currently pay for lunch, and that a 10% jump in participation for school meals — which the DOE said has taken place in districts with free school meals — could raise that cost to $26.5 million.
DOE said it would also lose out on federal funding reimbursements for offering reduced or free meals, though advocates of free school meals argue that federal funding actually grows.
HB1779 wouldn’t take effect until the 2029-2030 school year, which some say is enough time for the DOE to budget for universal free school meals.
“We just really want to emphasize that this bill would not be an immediate budget hit to the state,” said Genevieve Mumma of Hawaiʻi Hunger Action Network. “This upholds a five-year plan that Gov. Green has … to achieve free school meals by 2030. So, there's ample time to plan and phase in the funding that's needed by school year 2029-2030.”
The measure is set to cross over to the Senate, where universal free school meal proposals have died in recent years.
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