Partnership seeks to expand school meal programs

From Hawaii Appleseed Center

The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice has launched a new pro bono partnership with Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, a leading Honolulu law firm, seeking to expand school meal programs and maximize participation through advocacy and outreach.

Hawaii’s public schools participate in national school meal programs, thereby receiving significant reimbursements from the US Department of Agriculture for much of the costs of the program. The center’s new school meals project is particularly focused on expanding school breakfast programs.

Only 42 percent of students now enrolled in the free and reduced price lunch program consume breakfast at school. By bringing that rate up to 60 percent, the state would receive an additional $2.4 million in federal funding and feed 10,000 more children.

In addition, the Appleseed Center, formerly known as Lawyers for Equal Justice, will examine methods to maximize registration for the free and reduced meal program, looking at certification methods and the schools’ outreach efforts. It hopes to collaborate with schools helping to develop strategies to maximize participation by raising families’ awareness of the free and reduced price meal program.

The work of Appleseed’s Jenny Lee, Goodsill’s Abby Holden and Scott Shishido, and U.H. William S. Richardson School of Law’s Sara Tsukamoto will be critical in pushing this project forward. Click here to read more.