It’s that time of year again! The Hawai‘i State Legislative session is underway (annually from January to May), and the Hawai‘i Farm to School Hui (Hui) has been actively involved, developing and advocating for policies to strengthen Hawaii’s farm to school movement!

At the start of this session, the Hui identified 18 bills that were directly relevant to farm to school (i.e. school gardens and farms, food education, and local school food). Advocacy has involved sending action alerts to Hui members and submitting written and oral testimony via the Hui Coordinator, who has also mentored the Hawai‘i Youth Food Council  Policy Committee to become active this session!

Now at the halfway point of the legislative session (known as “crossover”), eight of those farm to school bills  are still alive and moving forward! Among these are the Hui’s two top priority policy initiatives  this year, which are to:

1. Fund a School Garden Coordinator position within the Hawai‘i Department of Education (HIDOE) Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design (SB2182 ); and
2. Fund a P-20 Agriculture Education Coordinator position within the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (UH CTAHR) (HB1844 ).

Importantly, HIDOE and UH CTAHR are in support of these initiatives, thanks to years of partnership building and collaboration with the Hui. These two positions are key to implementing the Hawai‘i Farm to School Program (established within HIDOE via Act 175 (2021) , and fulfilling the recommendations of the UH System Report to the 2019 Legislature on a Coordinated Framework of Support for Preschool Through Post-Secondary (P-20) Agriculture Education in Hawai‘i (DC149, 2019) . Additionally the positions would fulfill the Healthy Hawai‘i Strategic Plan 2030  Physical Activity and Nutrition Objective 13 (Education Sector) to “establish and sustain a funded statewide Food Systems Education Coordinator position to support ‘āina-based education, which promotes healthy eating in preschool through grade 12 (P-12) education settings.”

Get involved in this legislative session to raise your voice in support of farm to school! Create an account at capitol.hawaii.gov , sign up for “hearing notifications” for SB2182 and HB1844, and submit your supportive testimony online for each committee hearing that the bills go through. Check out more resources and sign up for action alerts from Hui partner, Hawai‘i Food+ Policy ! Teachers, involve your students using our handy guide ! Find your legislators  and reach out to talk story. Mahalo for your strong support of farm to school!

For more information on the Hawai‘i Farm to School Hui please contact Lydi Bernal at lydi@hiphi.org or the Hawai‘i Youth Food Council please contact Olivia Whittemore at olivia@hiphi.org.