Let’s not roll back on Hawaiʻi schools’ healthy lunch strides

For many of Hawaiʻi’s children, school is the only place where they have access to healthy, well-rounded, nutritious meals. In fact, research shows that, in most cases, school lunch is healthier than a home-packed lunch.

Two weeks ago, the Trump Administration undermined this access by again proposing roll-backs to school nutrition standards. The current standards—put in place as part of Michelle Obama’s efforts to reform school food—require that children are served at least five different varieties of vegetables each week: dark leafy greens, red/orange vegetables, “starchy” (includes taro and poi) and “other” (ʻulu/breadfruit falls in this category).

The proposed rule would keep these categories—but lower the amount of red/orange and “other” vegetables required, paving the way for districts to opt for white potatoes in place of more nutrient-dense veggie options.

The rule also reduces the fruit requirement for breakfast served outside the cafeteria from one cup to a half cup. This would apply to any schools working to implement a grab-and-go or breakfast-in-the-classroom model, which is one of the key initiatives being championed by Hawaiʻi’s first lady, Dawn Amano-Ige.

These changes aren’t the first assault on healthier school meals by this administration. In 2018, it removed the 50 percent whole grain requirement, allowed low-fat chocolate milk (only non-fat chocolate milk was allowed previously), and softened the sodium restrictions.

The good news here in Hawaiʻi is that our Department of Education (DOE) is one of those “program operators” who aren’t backing down. The DOE’s School Food Services Branch (which oversees meals for all 256 public schools in the state) is committed to maintaining the higher standards set forth in the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act for whole grain, red/orange and other vegetables, and flavored milk.