Public schools advance farm-to-school effort with new small farm partnerships

Hawaiʻi Department of Education is rolling out a new process that encourages small farm micropurchases of locally grown produce for school meals throughout the state in an effort to advance farm-to-school initiatives.

Students at Kahaluʻu Elementary School on Oʻahu recently enjoyed locally grown microgreens on their lunch plates. They were harvested just across the street from the elementary school campus at Kupu Place.

The greens were picked Sunday, delivered Tuesday and served to students Wednesday because of the farm’s close proximity.

Mustard greens including kale, mizuna, arugula and amaranth were featured in the microgreen mix, served alongside a classic student-favorite cheeseburger entrée. The greens will also appear later this month as a garnish for the school’s teri burger lunch.

While some Kahaluʻu students were already familiar with microgreens, they were a first for many other students.

“When I got my plate and I got the microgreens, I thought, ‘Wait, we actually got microgreens?’” said sixth-grader Chloe Preston in a release about the new menu item. “Personally, I really like microgreens. I think it’s a good vegetable.”

Fourth-grader Brian-James Pakele added that the microgreens weren’t bad.

“Sometimes I don’t really like grabbing the vegetables, but today I thought it would be a good idea because I haven’t been eating my vegetables,” he said in the release.

“They were really crunchy and fresh,” said sixth-grader Emiko Shimizu in the release. “I would want to eat it again.”

The partnership between Kahaluʻu Elementary and Kupu Place marks the first small farm micropurchase to be completed under the state Education Department’s new process.

Through the initiative, schools are enabled to purchase produce directly from small farms while remaining in compliance with state procurement requirements.

Purchases must remain less than the $5,000 cap throughout the 10-month school year and focus on a single farm or food hub providing a specific item to one school.

The produce must also fit within an approved Hawaiʻi Department of Education recipe, and vendors must maintain Hawaiʻi Compliance Express compliance and food safety certification.

“We’re super happy for this new partnership with Kahaluʻu Elementary,” said Kupu Place Farm Lead Ryan Rautureau in the release. “The micropurchasing arrangement is very cool and promising for farms like us … I would hope that the partnership solidifies and then expands. Hopefully, we are expanding our growing operation in order to feed more kids, and hopefully more farms are getting involved as well.”

The new micropurchase process is also aimed at strengthening the connection between students and local agriculture. It’s part of the state Education Department’s broader farm-to-school program, which supports food sustainability throughout the islands and aligns with state goals to improve student health while supporting the local agricultural economy.

“The kids can come over and see where their food comes from,” Rautureau said. “We’ve visited the school, and students have also come over to the farm.”

Sixth-grader Chloe recalled visiting the farm herself while enjoying her microgreens during lunch.

“I did some farming over there,” she said. “I pulled weeds, watered the plants and got to go inside, where everything is grown.”

Additional micropurchasing agreements are in development throughout the state, including collaborations between school cafeterias and school gardens, as well as additional small farm produce purchases on Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi Island and Maui.