Schools in Hawaii are set to receive more than $2.3 million in increased funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help cover the cost of school meal programs.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said the boost in funding will help schools continue to serve nutritious meals to children, even as food costs and operational challenges have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“More than $2 million in additional funding is on its way to Hawaii to support our school meal programs. Mahalo to USDA and Sen. Brian Schatz for helping to decrease food insecurity and providing balanced and nutritious meals to our keiki,” Hawaii First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige wrote in a tweet Jan. 12.
According to Schatz, this mid-year increase comes through a waiver established by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This will allow schools in the state to receive reimbursement rates for school meals that are 22% higher than what is standard.
In July 2021, the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) announced that all students at the 257 public schools across the state will receive free breakfast and lunch meals for the entirety of the 2021-22 school year. This came through a nationwide waiver from the USDA that aimed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by eliminating meal payment transactions in school cafeterias.
At that time, the DOE said federal funds would reimburse state education departments for meal costs. In total, schools will now receive an estimated $2,340,000 in increased funding, according to the Star-Advertiser.