HI SR174

Department of Education provides approximately 120,000 meals per day and currently spends $50,000,000 to $60,000,000 annually on food purchasing.

Act 175 requires 30% of food served in public schools to consist of locally sourced products by 2030, and Act 176 requires 50% of state department produce purchases to be local agricultural products by 2050.

Department's local food procurement has decreased from 10% of food budget in 2022 to 6.2% in 2023, representing only 0.82% of available Hawaii-grown fresh produce (or 0.54% accounting for distributor markups).

Senate requests Department of Education develop strategic plan including: existing procurement processes, current relationships with local farmers and distributors, scaling strategies for centralized and decentralized kitchen models, contingency plans for supply shortages, and information technology requirements for tracking and reporting.

Senate urges Department to fill the vacant Farm to School Coordinator position and requests copies be sent to Board of Agriculture, Board of Education, and Superintendent of Education.