{"id":19870,"date":"2026-05-01T14:32:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T00:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=19870"},"modified":"2026-05-01T14:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T00:34:20","slug":"2026-hawai%ca%bbi-public-schools-expand-local-menu-offerings-with-poi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/ja\/2026-hawai%ca%bbi-public-schools-expand-local-menu-offerings-with-poi\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawai\u02bbi public schools expand local menu offerings with poi"},"content":{"rendered":"

WAIK\u012aK\u012a \u2014  As part of the Hawai\u02bbi State Department of Education\u2019s (HIDOE) continued commitment to farm-to-school initiatives and student wellness, a local staple is being added to the regular rotation of school meals \u2014 fresh, locally sourced poi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While poi has previously been featured through small purchase procurements for special meal events, this marks the first statewide procurement under a regular HIDOE contract. Vendors HPC Foods and Aloha \u02bb\u0100ina Poi Company have been supplying schools with poi this school year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re really excited to have the first statewide procurement of poi, meaning we’ll have poi on the menu regularly across the state,\u201d HIDOE School Food Services Administrator Anneliese Tanner said. \u201cAll of our students will get to experience poi and get familiar with it or have what they eat at home on the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poi is currently featured as a key ingredient in the new kalo yogurt bowl parfait, a breakfast item that blends traditional flavors with a local twist. For lunch, schools are serving poi alongside their kalua pork and cabbage and kalua pork sandwich menu items, with additional menu pairings in development for the upcoming school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Waik\u012bk\u012b Elementary School, students were impressed with the new kalo bowl and enthusiastic about the addition of local poi to their school meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought the breakfast was really good because I liked all the flavors with the poi, the yogurt and the pineapple,\u201d fifth-grader Myriam Sugiyama-Bakrim said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was very healthy and nutritious,\u201d fifth grader Qacy Quaccia said. \u201cThe poi went really well with the yogurt and the kalo on top was like the cherry on top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some students, the dish also offered a first introduction to poi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was really good because I had never tried poi before,\u201d fifth-grader Isiss Ho said. \u201cIt tasted like smashed kalo and went really well with the yogurt \u2014 it was a good combination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students also recognized the importance of incorporating local ingredients into their meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a really good idea to have poi in school because it\u2019s local and fresh,\u201d said fourth-grader Astrid Roman. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have preservatives or bad ingredients \u2014 it\u2019s just natural from kalo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifth-grader Levi Dudoit emphasized the connection to local agriculture and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it will make people feel better, and it will taste better, because they\u2019re going to know where it\u2019s from,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ll be familiar with the land and farms it comes from. I think it\u2019s a really, really good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department intends to continue offering poi as a regular menu item moving forward. Expanding access to locally produced poi is one of many efforts supporting HIDOE\u2019s goal of increasing local food purchasing by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawai\u02bbi public schools are among the state\u2019s largest institutional food consumers, serving more than 100,000 student meals each day. The Department continues to collaborate with local vendors statewide to expand the regular use of fresh, locally grown produce in school cafeterias.<\/p>\n\n\n