Community forum raises awareness about the need for free student meals
Posted: March 28, 2025
While many public school students, families, and teachers started spring break with school being the last thing on their mind, another group of public school stakeholders gathered to raise awareness about a pressing issue facing island students: the need for universal free school meals.
On Saturday, March 15, public school students, family members, teachers, lawmakers, and other community allies met at McKinley High’s Auditorium for a Free School Meals for All Community Forum.
The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, in partnership with Hawaiʻi Appleseed, Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute, and the Hawaiʻi Hunger Action Network hosted the forum, where participants largely championed a universal free school meals policy for all Hawaiʻi public schools.
The forum served as a call to action to get Senate Bill 1300 passed this legislative session. The bill aims to expand free school meal coverage to students whose family income is less than 300% of the federal poverty level by school year 2026-2027. That means thousands more students would qualify for free meals if their annual income is roughly $107,000 for a family of four.
With food insecurity impacting one out of every three households in Hawaiʻi, negatively affecting the health and education of keiki across the state, a movement is growing to ensure that every public school student has access to nutritious breakfasts and lunches, fostering better physical and mental health while enhancing learning outcomes.
“Eight states nationwide already provide universal school meals for students, and our members have made this a top priority for a reason, we care about our kids,” said Sarah “Mili” Milianta-Laffin, HSTA’s Teacher Lobbyist and Ilima Intermediate teacher.
“School meals are school supplies, and HSTA remains committed to advocating for free school meals for all,” she added.
Students recount painful memories of hunger in school, teachers say free meals a ‘basic need’
Marsali Manley, 7th grade student at ʻIlima Intermediate, said, “I grew up in Ewa Beach. With the cost of living, I’ve seen how hard it is to pay for a meal and be able to eat lunch at school. I’ve seen many of my classmates have to go hungry because their parents couldn’t put the money in their accounts that they needed.”
Rylan Ramelb, an 8th grader at Dole Middle, told a story about the time he forgot his school ID and was denied his school lunch. Currently, if students forget their IDs at home, their ID number cannot be keyed in, and they cannot receive their lunch.
“In school, I usually hang out with friends, socialize and have fun, but it really hurts when I can get my beloved lunch because no more ID. Just because I don’t have an ID, that doesn’t mean you should take away my lunch, and just because you did that, now my teachers are nagging me all about ‘Why aren’t you doing your work?’ or ‘Why are you not active in this?’ I know you expect me to do my work, but how can I if I didn’t get my lunch?”
Mililani Middle School 6th grader Sadie Walker spoke during the forum and said, “Trying to focus and concentrate in class is already challenging, but when you’re hungry, all you think about is food…school can be a very stressful and difficult place for many of us, and the last thing any of us want to feel is different.
This is why by making it possible for all students to receive free lunches, we get rid of school hunger, which helps us have a better learning experience, help families with their money problems, and maybe help us see ourselves as equal to others, which is what we truly are.”
Teachers weighed in on the importance of universal free meals during the forum.
Christine Russo, an instructional coach at James Campbell High School, said “You can ask any teacher, and they’ll tell you that before any child can learn, they need to feel safe. They need to have their basic needs taken care of. Until that is met, the child is not primed for learning.
If students don’t know where the next meal is coming from, they are dealing with the trauma of food insecurity, and they are going to have a very difficult time succeeding in school,” she added.
Castle High teacher Nora Pollard says she routinely goes to Costco to buy snacks for her students who are hungry.
“Students deserve regular, constant access to healthy meals with local ingredients so that they can feel connected and they can see themselves represented in the food. Teachers do what we can, but we know it is never enough.”
“It would be a miracle if we could get breakfast and lunch free for our students, but I mean free meals — free from testing, free from qualifications, free breakfast, free lunch, free after school snack, free dinner to take home…No child and no person in our communities should go hungry.”
Lawmakers and community allies show support of free universal school meals
The March 15 forum was a meeting of the minds for not only teachers and students, but lawmakers who may hold the key to getting a universal school meals policy passed.
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D, HI) spoke about the “inhumane, egregious, destructive, and devastating” funding cuts happening at the federal level and how they will come to harm Hawaiʻi public schools.
“If we don’t demand that the federal government get on board with supporting our youngest keiki, they will be the victims.”
She also said that the threat of abolishing the U.S. Department of Education looms large, making state-level initiatives even more critical.
Vice Chair of the Hawaiʻi House Education Committee Rep. Trish La Chica (D, Mililani Town, Mililani Mauka, Waipio Gentry, and Koa Ridge) brought a personal perspective to the discussion.
Raised by a single father and experiencing food insecurity as a child, she understands the deep emotional impact of lunch-time inequity.
“No student should have to feel embarrassed because their family struggles to pay for lunch. No student should have to be forced to return their meal tray because their meal account was empty,” she said.
Rep. Amy Perruso (D, Wahiawa, Whitmore Village-Launani Valley) weighed in on the forum as a lawmaker, former public school teacher and mother. She shared experiences from a pilot program that transformed school meal culture by involving students in meal development, connecting them with local farmers, and creating a sense of community around food.
Honolulu Council Member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam also attended and emphasized the city’s role, particularly in supporting summer meal programs when school is not in session. These programs ensure children continue to receive nutritious meals during school breaks.
By continuing to tell our stories about food insecurity in Hawaiʻi public schools, we can all move one step closer toward meaningfully investing in Hawaiʻi’s future and ensuring every child has the opportunity to learn, grow and succeed.
