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.

“We have been trying to get this increase for over a decade,” said Daniela Spoto, director of anti-hunger initiatives at the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, in a statement. The policy institute last year published a report calling for the 62 percent reimbursement rate.

“Hawaiʻi’s reimbursement rate was far too low to be able to operate these programs effectively, and it has been negatively affecting our ability to serve quality meals to children,” Spoto said. “We are incredibly excited for what this means for improving access to and quality of Hawai‘i’s school meals.”

The Hawaiʻi Appleseed report said that with a 62 percent reimbursement rate, the state Department of Education could have received $221 million in federal reimbursements for the federal school lunch and breakfast programs since 2000.

Even higher rates could be coming to Hawaiʻi in the next few years. The USDA, starting in the 2024–2025 school year, said in a news release that it will begin conducting a nationwide study on the costs of producing school meals. The results of the study will be used to adjust the reimbursement rates for outlying areas like Hawaiʻi.