{"id":2702,"date":"2026-07-17T06:05:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2702"},"modified":"2026-07-17T06:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:05:06","slug":"thousands-more-hawaii-public-school-students-eligible-for-free-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2702","title":{"rendered":"Thousands more Hawaii public school students eligible for free meals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Nearly 12,000 more Hawaii public school students will receive free school meals this school year. <\/p>\n

Read more Free \u2018guns not allowed\u2019 signs offered to Hawaii businesses<\/a><\/p>\n

Starting Aug. 3, students from households with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level will qualify for one free breakfast and lunch each school day under Act 139, signed into law by Gov. Josh Green last year.<\/p>\n

The expansion builds on the first phase of the law, implemented during the 2025-26 school year, which eliminated meal charges for students who qualified for reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program.<\/p>\n

More than $3.3 million will be distributed to cover the cost of free meals over two school years.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHalf of Hawaii families are reporting difficulty maintaining consistent access to healthy, affordable, and nutritious food,\u201d said state Rep. Trish La Chica, House Committee on Education vice chair. \u201cBy making nutritious meals available to more keiki, we\u2019re helping create the conditions for every student to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.\u201d <\/p>\n

Access to nutritious school meals has been shown to directly contribute to improved attendance, academic performance, physical and mental health, and overall student well-being. The expansion is designed to help local families who already face challenges like rising food and household costs. <\/p>\n

Read more Florida runner\u2019s plan to complete 50K in 50 states over 50 days will end in Hawaii<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that my sons can get healthy meals at school without worrying about the cost is a huge relief,\u201d said Gwen W., a mother of two children at Hawaii public schools. \u201cIt means more room in our family budget for other essentials, and it gives me peace of mind knowing they\u2019ll have the nutrition they need to learn and succeed.\u201d <\/p>\n

Families are encouraged to apply for the Hawaii State Department of Education\u2019s online school meal application.<\/u> Those who need assistance should contact their child\u2019s school directly. <\/p>\n

All students at schools with the Community Eligibility Provision program, listed on the Department of Education\u2019s website<\/u>, automatically get free meals and do not need to apply.<\/p>\n

Students in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or who are identified as homeless, migrant, runaway, or foster children, also do not need to apply.<\/p>\n

Read more Lahaina Homecoming event flies more than 100 former residents back to Maui<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students from households with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level will qualify for free school meals starting Aug. 3. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThousands more Hawaii public school students eligible for free meals - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2702\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thousands more Hawaii public school students eligible for free meals - 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