The Children’s Healthy Living Food Systems Extension and Outreach (CHL FSEO) Pilot Projects were selected for funding in September 2023. Projects were selected by local advisory committees based on their ability to engage and empower communities to influence the food system to support the health of young children in the US Affiliated Pacific. In today’s feature, we are happy to introduce the selected project from Hawai’i.
Jurisdiction: Hawai’i
Project Title: Kids Eating Local: Expanding Hawai’i’s Harvest of the Month Program
Organization: UH CTAHR, Department of Human Nutrition Food and Animal Sciences
The “Kids Eating Local” project utilizes experiential farm to school education through expansion of the Hawai‘i Harvest of the Month (HOM) / Ho‘opili ‘Ai Program to increase student preference for fresh fruits and vegetables and their willingness to try new foods1. As defined by the National Farm to School Network (NFSN), “farm to school enriches the connection communities have with fresh, healthy food and local food producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and early care and education settings.”1 Farm to school programs positively impact the areas of economic development, public health, education, the environment, equity, and community engagement1.
Ho‘opili ‘Ai signifies the uniting of keiki (children) with Hawaiʻi’s unique, nutritious, and culturally significant local food crops. The “Kids Eating Local” project will enable continued operation and expansion of the HOM/Ho‘opili ‘Ai program for one year from January through December 2024 across Hawai‘i. Participants will be supported to utilize free online educational materials to comprehensively enrich the local food tasting experiences of students through nutrition education and school gardening. The program is expected to reach about 8,500 students in preschool through grade 12 at 50 public and public charter schools across all islands. About 2,625 pounds of local foods from food hubs will be distributed for the farm to school activities.
Hawaiʻi’s HOM Program was launched in October 2021 as part of the Hawaiʻi Farm to School Toolkit, a free online resource hub for educators. Development of the toolkit was led by the Hawai‘i Farm to School Hui (a program of Hawai‘i Public Health Institute/HIPHI) during a 4-week summer institute that involved a team of educators, high school and college students, food producers, and cafeteria managers. Further development of HOM has continued through an ongoing partnership between UH CTAHR, HIPHI, Hawai‘i ‘Ulu Cooperative, Chef Hui, and Kōkua Hawai‘i Foundation.
Contact information
Email the CHL FSEO at chlfseo@hawaii.edu.
References
National Farm to School Network. (2020). The Benefits of Farm to School. https://www.farmtoschool.org/resources-main/benefits-of-farm-to-school