Hawaiʻi missed out on $200M in federal funding for school meal programs, report says

In the past two decades, Hawaiʻi has missed out on more than $200 million in federal funding for child nutrition programs because of an outdated analysis of food costs, a recent study reports.

The Hawaiʻi Appleseed study, released in May, found that federal programs meant to reimburse organizations that feed Hawaiʻi’s children have not taken into account more than 40 years of increases in local food costs.

The programs—including the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program—cover an average of 85–90 percent of meal production costs for participating organizations around the country, while public funds usually cover the rest.