Gov. Ige, First Lady Kick-Off School Breakfast Month

Gov. David Ige and first lady Dawn Amano-Ige kicked off School Breakfast Month by having breakfast with students at Fern Elementary School. The governor, Mrs. Ige and students enjoyed a hearty kalo (or taro) breakfast bowl with yogurt, granola and pineapple.

Gov. Ige also signed a proclamation declaring the month of March School Breakfast Month.

“We know that children who have the opportunity to eat breakfast get a good start in the morning,” said Gov. Ige. “It was really fantastic to see Fern Elementary School doing a great job with their breakfast program. It’s exciting to see the children having a hearty, healthy breakfast.”

“Breakfast provides children with the nutrition they need, helps them feel better, improves attendance, academic achievements and their overall educational outcome,” said Amano-Ige. “It really helps to enhance the breakfast offerings, which encourages the children to eat breakfast.”

Earlier this week, the first lady participated in a panel discussion on ending childhood hunger at the National Governors Association’s Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. Amano-Ige joined North Carolina’s first lady Kristin Cooper and Rhode Island’s first gentleman Andy Moffit for the discussion on Promoting Well-Being and Future Success of America’s Youth Part 1: Ending Childhood Hunger.

Amano-Ige recently launched a new pilot program in Hawai‘i called Jump Start Breakfast, which encourages students to eat a healthy breakfast to improve their health and well-being.

The awareness program offers students in low-income areas a nutritious breakfast at school for as little as 30 cents per meal, depending on family income. The Jump Start Breakfast program is trying different approaches in its effort to increase the number of students who have a healthy breakfast every morning. Fern Elementary is among the public schools participating in the pilot program.

Public school students at all 256 campuses across the state are currently offered breakfast through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) School Breakfast Program.