Hawaiʻi lawmakers spent big on public schools this year
But education advocates said the Legislature did little to address problems such as school bus driver shortages, fire safety and the need for more preschool teachers.
Bill aims to keep more kupuna eligible for SNAP benefits
Seniors whose eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program food benefits has been lost or reduced by a recent increase in Social Security benefits could see relief through a bill introduced by Hawaii U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda last week.
Hawaiʻi food insecurity persists post COVID-19
Even as Hawaiʻi distances itself from the harshest effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-hunger advocates say that elevated food insecurity among residents has not only persisted but is growing.
VIDEO: Anti-hunger leaders join ‘Spotlight Hawaiʻi’
Hawaiʻi Food Bank CEO Amy Miller Marvin and Daniela Spoto, Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s director of Anti-Hunger Initiatives, joined the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaiʻi.”
Bills to transform Hawaiʻi’s school meals die in Senate
A handful of well- supported bills to transform student meals in Hawaiʻi’s public schools appears to be dead for this legislative session.
USDA raises meal reimbursement rate for Hawaiʻi’s kids
While the new rate is still less than half of what advocates wanted, it’s been met with praise in Hawaiʻi.
State gets more funding for school lunches
Funding will go toward providing healthy meals at Hawaiʻi schools, child care, after-school and summer programs where more than 100,000 children will benefit.
Rate increase will bring in $8 million per year to feed Hawaiʻi’s keiki
These increased rates are projected to bring an additional $8 million a year to Hawaiʻi to support healthy meals for children.
‘People are really struggling:’ Hawaiʻi food banks scramble to meet increased demand
Rising food costs and the end of pandemic-era assistance programs are driving a spike in demand for food assistance.
Nonprofits team up to curb hunger with new national funding
The four Hawaiʻi nonprofits are among 13 new partners in MAZON’s Emerging Advocacy Fund, a nationwide effort to support and expand grassroots anti-hunger work in the states most impacted by food insecurity.
Safeway register donations power school breakfast program
During the month of September, donations will be used by Hawaiʻi Appleseed to improve access to and quality of school breakfast for children across the State of Hawaiʻi.
Tap more child nutrition, school-lunch subsidies for isle keiki
The “Feed Our Keiki” report finds that the federal school meal reimbursement rates for Hawaiʻi currently should be 62% higher than other states, but it has been stuck at only 17% higher since 1979.
Hawaiʻi missed out on $200M in federal funding for school meal programs, report says
The Hawaiʻi Appleseed study found that federal programs meant to reimburse organizations that feed Hawaii’s children have not taken into account more than 40 years of increases in local food costs.
Hawaiʻi’s federal child nutrition funding is outdated and insufficient, report finds
Federal reimbursement rates for child nutrition programs in Hawaiʻi do not currently reflect the high cost of living, a new report found.
A pandemic program that fed schoolchildren last summer is now in jeopardy
The USDA is in the middle of examining its reimbursement rates for school meals in Hawaiʻi, but its findings aren’t expected to be released for a few more years.
Report: Federal funding flaw shortchanges Hawaiʻi’s school nutrition programs
The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education is paying tens of millions of dollars to feed Hawaiʻi school children due to a flaw in the funding method used by the federal government, according to a report.
Hawaiʻi’s keiki nutrition programs facing financial crisis
The state is missing out on tens of millions of federal dollars each year to provide meals for needy children.
Report: Hawaiʻi missed out on $200 million in federal funding to feed children since 2000
This discrepancy stems from a federal analysis that hasn’t been updated since 1979, according to the report.
Inflation is forcing some Hawaiʻi families to change the way they shop for groceries
Economists agree this rising trend won’t go away anytime soon—that’s concerning for food banks and nonprofit organizations that help low-income and working class families.
Hawaiʻi schools are buying less local food during the pandemic
Despite new legislation requiring public schools to serve student meals with more local ingredients, advocates say they are frustrated by a regression in local food initiatives.