{"id":20767,"date":"2026-07-01T07:58:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=20767"},"modified":"2026-07-01T09:42:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:42:56","slug":"2026-summer-meals-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/2026-summer-meals-update\/","title":{"rendered":"HIDOE serves nearly 145,000 free summer meals, invites families to participate"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hawai\u02bbi State Department of Education has already served nearly 145,000 free summer meals to children across the state, providing access to nutritious breakfasts and lunches while school is out for the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As of June 30, 74 participating public schools have served more than 52,000 breakfasts and 93,000 lunches through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Seamless Summer Option program. Free meals are available weekdays through July 17 to all children ages 18 and younger, regardless of whether they attend public school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Every summer, we know many families continue to rely on school meals,” Superintendent Keith Hayashi said. “We’re proud to provide healthy, locally inspired meals that help students stay nourished and ready to learn while easing the burden on families.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This year’s summer menu features several new recipes made with locally sourced ingredients, including an \u02bbuala (sweet potato) swirl bun, kalo yogurt bowl, local-style fried rice and loco moco with \u02bbulu gravy. Students may also choose from a daily salad or vegetarian option for lunch.\u00a0 View the summer menu below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For many families, the program helps ensure children continue receiving healthy meals during the summer while easing grocery costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At Princess Ruth Ke\u02bbelik\u014dlani Middle School near downtown Honolulu, Principal Joe Passantino said the program provides crucial nutrition for many students during the summer, especially with the expanded menu offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“We’re super grateful for the program, and the food that’s provided for our demographic and our population is really what they look forward to. Many kids don’t eat at home, so this is sometimes some of their only meals, so they’re super excited to come to school to get fed,” Passantino said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the expanded menu has been popular with students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The new menu items of the different salads every day \u2014 there was a noodle salad, chicken salad, taco salad. I was actually surprised that many students choose those and prefer those compared to the regular. As the state evolves and creates different things, I think it makes the kids happy and creates a buzz for what’s going to be for lunch tomorrow.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Incoming sixth grader Christian Tajiri said the fresh menu options has made summer meals something he looks forward to each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I think my favorite one is probably the salad. The salads are, like, really good,” Christian said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He said the program also helps reduce meal costs for his family. “This is kind of good for my family because these free foods can help my family more by not spending more money.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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His classmate, TK Fumiten, also enjoys the meals and encourages other students and families to take advantage of the opportunity. “If they don’t want to grab food, I’m going to say, ‘Hey, just grab it. It’s free food and it really tastes good.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Breakfast is served from 7:15 to 8:45 a.m. and lunch is from 10:30 a.m. to noon. There will be no meal service on July 3, when the state observes the Independence Day holiday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All meals must be eaten on campus; grab-and-go options are not available. Children do not have to be enrolled at a participating school to be served, and meals will consist of solid foods. For special diet accommodations, email specialdiets@k12.hi.us<\/a> me n\u0101 kiko\u02bb\u012b e like me ka hiki. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Seamless Summer Option program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and helps ensure children continue to receive nutritious meals while school is not in session. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Schools qualify to participate if at least 50% of their students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals and they host a summer program on campus. The list of participating schools is listed below. Families are encouraged to contact their nearest participating school for meal service details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


NA KULA KULA<\/strong> 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

O\u02bbAHU<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honolulu District (20)<\/strong>
Dole Waena  
Farrington High
Fern El.
\u02bbO Jarrett Middle
Ka\u02bbewai El.
Kaimuk\u012b High
Ka\u02bbiulani El.
Kal\u0101kaua Waena
Kalihi El.  
Kalihi Waena El.  
Kapalama El.
Kauluwela El. 
Ke\u02bbelik\u014dlani Waena
Kula Kaiapuni \u02bbO \u0100nuenue
Lincoln El.
\u02bbO Ma\u02bbema\u02bbe El.    
P\u0101lolo El.
Pu\u02bbuhale El.
Roosevelt Kiekie
Stevenson Waena
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central O\u02bbahu (1)<\/strong>
Ka\u02bbala El.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leeward O\u02bbahu (13)<\/strong>
Augate Ahrens El. 
Barbers Point El. 
Campbell High
Leih\u014dk\u016b El.    
M\u0101\u02bbili El.  
M\u0101kaha El.    
N\u0101n\u0101ikapono El.  
N\u0101n\u0101kuli El.  
N\u0101n\u0101kuli High & Inter.   
Kiekie City Pearl   
Wai\u02bbanae High
Wai\u02bbanae Inter.
Waiau El.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Windward O\u02bbahu (8)<\/strong>
Hau\u02bbula El.     
Kahuku El.
Kahuku High & Inter.
Kailua El.
K\u0101ne\u02bbohe El.    
\u02bbO L\u0101\u02bbie El.  
Pope El.
P\u016b\u02bb\u014dhala El.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

HAWAI\u02bbI ISLAND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

East Hawai\u02bbi (13)<\/strong>
Hilo High
Hilo Inter.
Kalaniana\u02bbole El.
Kea\u02bbau El.  
Kea\u02bbau High
Kea\u02bbau Waena
Keaukaha El.   
Keonepoko El.
N\u0101n\u0101 Mauna El. 
P\u0101hoa High & Inter.
Wai\u0101kea High
Wai\u0101kea Inter. 
Wai\u0101keawaena El.

West & North Hawai\u02bbi (6)<\/strong>
Honoka\u02bba High & Inter.
Kealakehe El.
Kealakehe Inter.
Kohala High
Kohala Waena
Waimea El.

MAUI (10)<\/strong>
Baldwin Ki\u02bbeki\u02bbe
Ha\u02bbik\u016b El.
\u02bb\u012aao Inter.
Kahului El.
Kalama Inter.
Kekaulike High 
K\u012bhei El.
N\u0101hi\u02bbena\u02bbena El.
P\u0101\u02bbia El.
Waihe\u02bbe El.

KAUA\u02bbI (3)<\/strong>
Kapa\u02bba El.  
Kaumuali\u02bbi El. 
Kekaha El.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

SSO is an equal opportunity provider. For more information, visit: https:\/\/www.fns.usda.gov\/sfsp\/seamless-summer-and-other-options-schools<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Menu<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more summer meal locations including non-school sites statewide, please click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u02bb\u014clelo Ho\u02bbokae \u02bbole<\/strong>: E like me ke k\u0101n\u0101wai k\u012bwila federal a me ka US Department of Agriculture (USDA) n\u0101 pono k\u012bvila a me n\u0101 kulekele, ua p\u0101p\u0101 \u02bbia k\u0113ia ke\u02bbena mai ka ho\u02bbokae \u02bbana ma ke kumu o ka l\u0101hui, ka waiho\u02bbolu\u02bbu, ka l\u0101hui, ke k\u0101ne (me ka \u02bbike k\u0101ne k\u0101ne a me ka ho\u02bbokae wahine), ke k\u012bn\u0101, ka makahiki, a i \u02bbole ka ho\u02bbopa\u02bbi a i \u02bbole ka ho\u02bbopa\u02bbi \u02bbana no ka hana pono k\u012bwila ma mua. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u02bbO n\u0101 po\u02bbe me ke kino k\u012bn\u0101 e koi ana i n\u0101 ala kama\u02bbilio \u02bb\u0113 a\u02bbe no ka \u02bbike o ka papahana (e la\u02bba, Braille, pa\u02bbi nui, lipine leo, \u02bb\u014dlelo h\u014d\u02bbailona \u02bbAmelika), pono e ho\u02bboka\u02bba\u02bbike i ke ke\u02bbena (moku\u02bb\u0101ina a k\u016bloko paha) kahi i noi ai l\u0101kou no n\u0101 p\u014dmaika\u02bbi. Hiki i n\u0101 po\u02bbe kuli, pa\u02bbakik\u012b ka lohe \u02bbana a i \u02bbole ke k\u012bn\u0101 o ka \u02bb\u014dlelo ke kelepona i\u0101 USDA ma o ka Federal Relay Service ma (800) 877-8339. Eia hou, hiki ke loa\u02bba ka \u02bbike papahana ma n\u0101 \u02bb\u014dlelo \u02bb\u0113 a\u02bbe ma waho o ka \u02bb\u014dlelo Pelekania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No ka waiho \u02bbana i kahi ho\u02bbopi\u02bbi papahana no ka ho\u02bbokae \u02bbana, e ho\u02bbopiha i ka Palapala Ho\u02bbopi\u02bbi Ho\u02bbokae Polokalamu USDA, (AD-3027) i loa\u02bba ma ka p\u016bnaewele ma: Pehea e waiho ai i kahi ho\u02bbopi\u02bbi, a ma kekahi ke\u02bbena USDA, a i \u02bbole e k\u0101kau i kahi leka i kuhikuhi \u02bbia i ka USDA a h\u0101\u02bbawi i ka leka i n\u0101 \u02bbike \u0101pau i noi \u02bbia ma ka palapala. No ke noi \u02bbana i kope o ka palapala ho\u02bbopi\u02bbi, kelepona (866) 632-9992. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

E ho\u02bbouna i k\u0101u palapala i ho\u02bbopiha \u02bbia a i \u02bbole leka i\u0101 USDA ma: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

fax: (202) 690-7442; or <\/p>\n\n\n\n

leka uila: program.intake@usda.gov<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u02bbO k\u0113ia ke\u02bbena he mea h\u0101\u02bbawi manawa like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hawai\u02bbi State Department of Education has already served nearly 145,000 free summer meals to children across the state, providing access to nutritious breakfasts and lunches while school is out for the summer. As of June 30, 74 participating public schools have served more than 52,000 breakfasts and 93,000 lunches through the U.S. Department of […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":20766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"856,888,893,1022,1619,1622","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-homepage","category-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":32,"label":"Featured - Homepage"},{"value":21,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jarrett-Middle-School-Summer-Free-Meals-DSC00102-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Krislyn Yano Moore","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/author\/krislyn-yano_moorek12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":32,"name":"Featured - Homepage","slug":"featured-homepage","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":32,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":32,"category_count":1,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Featured - Homepage","category_nicename":"featured-homepage","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":334,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":334,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-08 15:16:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20767"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20774,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20767\/revisions\/20774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}