HI HR86

Urges the Department of Education and Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to jointly develop a Farmer-to-Institution Coordination Plan aligned with the phased rollout of the AINA Kitchen Network, Hawaii's regional school kitchen system.

Act 175 (2021) requires 30% local sourcing for school meals by 2030, but the Department of Education achieved only 5.43% local food procurement in the 2023-2024 school year with just four years remaining to meet the target.

Nearly $2 million in federal Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program funds went unspent over two school years, and Auditor's Report No. 26-08 found systemic failures including absence of centralized tracking software and inconsistent identification of locally sourced products.

The coordination plan should include identification of specific crops needed, assessment of current production capacity gaps, a farmer capacity-building strategy, multi-year procurement contracts, and implementation of a centralized digital tracking system to replace handwritten records.

Departments are requested to submit the plan to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the 2027 Regular Session, including findings, recommendations, proposed legislation, and federal funding expenditure data.