The Politics of School Lunch in Hawaiʻi

Abstract

School lunch reform is taking place at many different levels, from the legislature, to certain school lunch personnel, down to parents at individual schools. How did school lunch develop differently in Hawaiʻi from that found in the continental United States? The Hawaiʻi DOE 5 week cycle menu has remained unchanged for the past 30 plus years. It still has a high fat content, uses agricultural commodity surplus meat and dairy in every meal, and includes little fresh produce. This article uses qualitative methods to examine the implications for children's health and behavior in the classroom, along with the institutional barriers to school lunch reform in Hawaiʻi.