State officials discuss expansion of free school meals

SB1300 would require the state DOE to appropriate funding for meals for students who come from households classified as “asset limited, income restrained, employed,” (ALICE).

“The big remaining bill left is SB1300, and that is going to, at the current state, provide free school meals for all ALICE families. So that’s really the families who are struggling to make ends meet and aren’t eligible for the current national free and reduced lunch programs,” said Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute director of policy and advocacy, Nate Hix.

According to the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, many families statewide earn too much to qualify for free school meal programs, yet not enough to meet the state’s basic living costs, leaving them unable to afford providing their children with consistent meals throughout the day.