“We’re glad to see Hawaiʻi making some great progress,” said Nicole Woo, senior policy analyst at the Honolulu-based nonprofit Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice. “It’s really nice to see a jump from 47th in the nation to 37th. But we’re still under the national average … even though we’ve had these huge jumps these last few years less than 1 in 9 (Hawaiʻi low-income students) are getting summer meals through this program so you have to wonder what these kids are eating otherwise.”

Many Hawaiʻi public schools participate in the Seamless Summer Option, a U.S. Department of Agriculture summer food program designed to help low-income students continue receiving nutritious meals once school’s not in session.

Studies show many students fall back slightly academically during the summer, Woo said, known as the “summer slide.” She said that learning loss is higher among low-income students. She said if students know meals are offered, they also might be more inclined to participate in summer programs available at a school.

“Higher income kids are going to summer camp, museums and all these enrichment activities,” Woo said. “And that accumulates over the course of a student’s academic career and it’s at least part of the cause in differences in academic achievement gaps between low-income students and their peers. So being able to get kids to come to these (meal) programs is really important for their academics as well. If they know there’s a free lunch, they may be more likely to go to a program during the day.”