Column: Free school meals for all Hawaii students

As Hawaii’s public school students begin to return to in-person learning, we are faced with a stark new reality: Many of them are hungry.

Food insecurity among Hawaii’s children has jumped from just over 18% in 2018 to nearly 30%, according to Feeding America projections. For the first time, Hawaii is among the top 10 states with the highest child food insecurity.

The economic fallout from COVID-19 has exacerbated an already precarious situation for many families and forced other households that had never experienced food insecurity before to seek help.

In times of crisis, we are fortunate to have safety nets to soften the blow while we get back on our feet. For example, this past year the state delivered free grab-and-go meals at more than 200 schools. It was recently extended and can now be offered through the summer months at participating schools.

However, it is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that is the state’s — and the nation’s — foremost nutrition safety net program, and for good reason. It provides around half a billion dollars annually to Hawaii residents to purchase food. Hawaii has seen a 30% increase in SNAP enrollment since March of last year and is now serving more than 198,000 residents.

This includes an additional “Pandemic-EBT” benefit that families with children on free or reduced-price meals can use to purchase groceries. The departments of Education and Human Services anticipate that eligible Hawaii families will be receiving additional P-EBT benefits starting in the spring.

And the benefits of SNAP go even further, for reasons you might not expect. Many people aren’t aware that the number of children in SNAP households can also determine whether a particular school qualifies for universal free meals, through what’s known as the Community Eligibility Provision.

If 40% of a student population is “direct certified” (meaning they are living in SNAP households, foster care or in unstable housing), the school can serve free meals to all students. Last year, 61 schools served free meals to every student under this provision, and next school year could be even higher.

Increasing the number of schools serving free meals to all students is important because there are many students from low-income households who don’t qualify for SNAP. They could be from households with limited English proficiency, making it difficult for them to navigate the eligibility system. Or they could be the children of immigrants, who have been discouraged from applying for public benefits due to fears of deportation under the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule. If not for universal meals, these students could go hungry.

As Hawaii students return to on-campus school, maximizing the number of schools serving free school meals to all students is more important than ever. If you know a family who could be eligible for free or reduced-price meals, please let them know help is available. If they need help filling out the application on the Department of Education website, school staff can help.

During this pandemic, our community has rallied to help in ways large and small. By being aware and offering to help, we can ensure that our children have nutritious meals at school. Because no child should go hungry in Hawaii.

Dawn Amano Ige is Hawaii’s first lady; Catherine Betts is director of the state Department of Human Services; Christina Kishimoto is superintendent of Hawaii’s Department of Education.