HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1864
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAMS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that school food programs play a critical role in improving the health of Hawaii's keiki by encouraging consumption of fresh, locally grown foods. The Hawaii farm-to-school program was established in 2015 to transition the State's school food systems toward locally grown food for the benefit of students, small businesses, local farmers, and the environment. From 2016 through 2018, the ‘Āina Pono Executive Program oversaw two pilot projects in school cafeterias on Oahu and Hawaii island to evaluate the feasibility of increasing, and processes required to increase, the amount of fresh, local food on public school menus. The pilot projects were overwhelmingly successful, highlighting the need to make similar changes across the public school system.

The legislature further finds that implementing farm-to-school programs statewide requires investment in school cafeteria facilities and cafeteria staff training. The department of education's one hundred ninety-three production kitchens and forty-four serving kitchens require increased investment to ensure proper maintenance and upgrades that will facilitate scratch cooking in school food services. In 2020, a kitchen assessment for all public schools on Kauai found that the estimated needs in kitchen equipment totaled approximately $792,000 for eleven production sites. Given that Kauai school kitchens are smaller than most school kitchens in the State, these needs are likely somewhat greater for the islands of Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii.

Furthermore, training for cafeteria managers and staff is required in the areas of scratch cooking, recipe development and standardization, just-in-time food preparation, waste management, and recordkeeping. The ‘Āina Pono pilot projects at the Kohala school complex and Mililani high school demonstrate the importance of adequate training. With two months of training, Kohala school complex kitchen staff went from serving processed food to one hundred per cent scratch-cooked food. The efforts of the cafeteria team led to fresh food purchases that increased from a baseline of twenty-seven per cent to ninety-two per cent. This increase coincided with more than $30,000 in savings and increased student participation in school food programs. Similarly, the ‘Āina Pono project at Mililani high school resulted in a savings of $106,658 over the course of one semester while increasing local and fresh food purchases, student participation, and staff morale.

The legislature finds that an investment in Hawaii's school cafeteria facilities and staff training is an upfront investment in the health of Hawaii's keiki.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to improve the ability of school food programs to serve students fresh, locally grown foods by appropriating funds for school cafeteria upgrades and cafeteria staff training.

SECTION 2. The director of finance is authorized to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary is appropriated for fiscal year 2022-2023 for school cafeteria upgrades.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for cafeteria staff training.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. The appropriation made for the capital improvement project authorized by this Act shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal biennium for which the appropriation is made; provided that all moneys from the appropriation unencumbered as of June 30, 2024, shall lapse as of that date.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

Report Title:

School Food Programs; Cafeteria Upgrades; Cafeteria Staff Training; DOE; General Obligation Bonds; Appropriation

Description:

Appropriates funds for school cafeteria upgrades and cafeteria staff training to improve the ability of the department of education's school food programs to serve students fresh, locally grown foods. Effective 7/1/2050. (HD2)

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