Food insecurity and nutrition insecurity is a critical issue for our state. Hawai‘i has been cited has having the second highest rate of childhood hunger in the nation. When experiencing hunger, children can face increased risk of cognitive issues, aggression, anxiety, behavioral problems, depression, and suicide ideation.

To address this issue, Hawai‘i Foodbank has launched a school pantry program to provide food to students and their families. This partnership will enable us to test a produce procurement and delivery system that leverages economies of scale to maximize distribution of healthy produce to children, expanding distribution from 12 to all 50 school pantries in the Hawaiʻi Foodbank network. New pantries will automatically enter into the produce distribution chain.