David Y. Ige | OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR NEWS RELEASE: KAUKAU four KEIKI PARTNERSHIP TO PROVIDE HEALTHY FOODS TO CHILDREN IN RURAL AREAS THIS SUMMER

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE: KAUKAU 4 KEIKI PARTNERSHIP OFFERS HEALTHY FOOD FOR CHILDREN IN RURAL AREAS THIS SUMMER

Posted on June 3, 2021 in News, Newsroom, Press Releases

HONOLULU – A new partnership between government, private, and community partners is working to make healthy food easier for children in rural Hawaii.

The Kaukau 4 Keiki partnership will provide weekly breakfast and lunch sets in rural communities for children under the age of 18 whose zip codes begin with “967—”. The weekly meal packages will be available from June 7th for Oahu and June 14th for the neighboring islands and will run until July 31st.

“In some areas it is difficult for children to come to school for a single take-away meal during the summer months. Through Kaukau 4 Keiki, many groups have come together to meet this need and I would like to thank all partners, ”said Hawaii’s First Lady Dawn Amano-Ige.

“It’s just something we knew we had to do for our Keiki. Every child should have access to healthy, nutritious food year round, and transportation can be a real barrier to that in the summer, ”said Dexter Kishida, food security and sustainability program manager for the city and county of Honolulu.

The Kaukau 4 Keiki Coalition includes coordinators for access to food on O’ahu, Kaua’i, Maui and Hawaii Island, the Hawai’i Child Nutrition Program, the Kahumana Food Hub & Organic Farms (Oʻahu), Mālama Kaua’i ( Kaua’i ‘), No Kid Hungry, USDA Summer Food Services Program, Vibrant Hawaii (Hawai’i Island), and Hawaii Foodservice Alliance.

“We are grateful for the support of so many partners during this challenging time. The flexibility offered by the USDA exemptions enabled the use of resources we already had, such as the Summer Food Service Program, a government-funded, government-administered program that reimburses program operators who serve free healthy meals and snacks to children and teenagers . said Sharlene Wong, program administrator for the Hawai’i Child Nutrition Program (HCNP).

Families can register online at www.kaukau4keiki.org for a meal box for their Keiki, or call 2-1-1 if they don’t have internet access. Funding is very limited and applications are approved on a first come, first served basis.

The families are contacted by community organizations on the agreed date, the organizations deliver a box with fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and cereals or offer fixed pick-up times.

“This is a great opportunity to implement a farm-to-school model during the summer months to support our families and food producers,” said Megan Fox, General Manager of Mālama Kaua’i. Meal packages will vary from island to island as program hosts will make every effort to support local farmers, ranchers, and food producers with the USDA program’s grocery shopping dollars.

In addition to Kaukau 4 Keiki, the Department of Education’s Summer Meals Program begins on June 4th for children aged 18 and younger, regardless of their registration status. A list of participating schools can be found here for more information.

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