Hawaii’s Act 175, signed in 2021, requires the state Department of Education, by 2030, to obtain locally 30% of the food served to students — but legislators report that DOE has been opaque about efforts to step up progress on this requirement. Enter House Bill 247, which would have added more state departments to the requirement and required regular progress reports.

The DOE did not support HB 247, and it appears dead for this legislative session, despite widespread support from the public and local agriculture advocates. Looks like the drive to supply more local food to the schools (and bolster the state’s food security in the process) won’t get far until DOE leaders get behind it.