The state Department of Education failed to make progress in 2024 toward an ambitious goal prescribed by state law to use more locally produced food in public school meals.

DOE, which is mandated to spend 30% of its total school food bill on local ingredients by 2030, managed to achieve 5.4% during the 2023-2024 school year.

Spending on local food totaled nearly $4.5 million, compared with almost $77.6 million for nonlocal food in public schools statewide excluding charter schools.

Last year’s 5.4% achievement was down from 6.1% in the prior school year, according to a report delivered earlier this month to the state Legislature.

The department benefited a bit in 2024 from being able to include local bottled water as a food cost. DOE also had expected to improve local food purchasing after hiring a Farm-to-School Program coordinator in August 2023. The coordinator helps menu planners and school food service staff access more local ingredients.

On the flip side, a big reason for sliding further from the goal was inflation that hiked prices for food in general, most of which was imported, and because milk wasn’t included in prior years as a cost for school meals.

Nevertheless, the report raises doubts as to whether DOE, which serves roughly 100,000 meals a day, can attain or even come close to the 30% goal with six years to go.

State schools Superintendent Keith Hayashi said in a statement that the department recognizes the need to accelerate progress and is fully committed to achieving the goal.

Efforts that should help accelerate progress, according to Hayashi, include new leadership for DOE’s School Food Services Branch that will reassess strategies for sourcing local ingredients, and a regional kitchen model to be piloted in the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Area that demonstrates what he called a promising approach to distribute and prepare more local produce at the school level.

Also, vendor information forums planned this year for Hawaii farmers, ranchers and suppliers will provide essential guidance on procurement laws, food safety standards, delivery logistics and other things in an effort to increase the supply of local food to DOE, Hayashi added.

“The Department remains focused on serving nutritious, appealing meals to students while responsibly managing state and federal resources,” he said. “We are committed to building a system that supports Hawaii’s agriculture industry, aligns with procurement requirements, and achieves our local food expenditure goals.”

State lawmakers mandated the goal in 2021 via House Bill 767, which became Act 172 that year.

Before that the task was assigned to the state Department of Agriculture, while two schools since 2015 had a pilot program to increase local food in their meals.

There has been significant skepticism as to whether DOE can reach the 30% goal, in part due to requirements that farmers must meet to provide food to students, which include federal food safety regulations, and the availability of locally produced food in relation to demand from DOE.

According to the state Department of Agriculture, the 10 biggest crops produced in Hawaii in 2023 were seeds, cattle, coffee, algae, macadamia nuts, basil, eggs, orchids, foliage and lettuce.

In 2024, local meat represented the biggest contribution of local food in school meals, representing 3% of total food costs, according to DOE’s report.

Some past examples of school lunches made with local beef include hamburger curry, beef chili nachos, hamburger steak, sloppy Joes and spaghetti with meat sauce.

Fresh fruit and vegetables grown in Hawaii represented 1.8%, according to the report. Local dairy represented 0.5%.

Decades ago dozens of Hawaii dairy farms produced 100% of the milk consumed in the state, but only one large dairy farm remains. That farm is on Hawaii island. Nearly all of the local dairy products purchased by DOE for $417,092 went to Hawaii island schools, the report said.

DOE reported that prior to last school year it did not include drinks in its food spending calculations. The change to include drinks in 2024 also led the department to include bottled water.

“The United States Food and Drug Administration regulates bottled water as a packaged food, on par with milk and juice products,” DOE said in the report.

The department reported spending $51,124 on local bottled water in 2024 for school meals. The sum equated to 0.06% of total food costs.

The report also noted that DOE spent $24,921 on locally produced poi for schools on Hawaii island, Maui and Kauai. These purchases represented 0.03% of total food costs.

While progress through 2024 may be lackluster, DOE is doing better than at least one other state agency that serves a lot of meals.

Under a separate Hawaii law enacted in 2021, DOE and several other state agencies are mandated to achieve a different set of minimum levels of spending on local foods, including 10% by the beginning of this year, 18% by 2030 and 50% by 2050.

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a recent report to the Legislature that it achieved 3.5% in its fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, representing $371,620 of a $10.5 million total food bill.

DCR, which operates jails and prisons, reported spending $243,979 on local fruits and vegetables, and $127,641 on produce grown at DCR facilities.

“The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation continues to work closely with vendors to increase procurement of locally sourced products and attain the benchmarks as set by Hawaii State Legislature,” the agency said in its report. “Complications in achieving this goal include funding, State procurement rules, vendor supply shortages, providing nutritious meals within budget, and attempting to revise vendor contracts mid-term.”