{"id":219203,"date":"2025-07-28T16:34:34","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T02:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=219203"},"modified":"2025-07-28T16:40:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T02:40:22","slug":"culinary-institute-of-the-pacific-school-meals-local-flavors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/28\/culinary-institute-of-the-pacific-school-meals-local-flavors\/","title":{"rendered":"Culinary Institute of the Pacific to help transform school meals with local flavors"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Culinary
(Photo credit HIDOE<\/abbr>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College\u2019s Culinary Institute of the Pacific<\/a> (CIP<\/abbr>) is taking the lead in a groundbreaking initiative to transform meals served in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s public schools, with a focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients and student appeal.<\/p>\n

“Getting students to want to eat school meals starts with menus that are tasty as well as nutritious,” said Roy Yamaguchi, CIP<\/abbr> director. “That\u2019s why [we are] engaged in a collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America, which has worked with school districts across the country to develop student-informed menus that keep meals fresh, flavorful and appealing.”<\/p>\n

With funding from the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Legislature, the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Department of Education (HIDOE<\/abbr>) contracted CIP<\/abbr> to spearhead the redevelopment of public school menus as part of the state\u2019s broader regional kitchen master plan. CIP<\/abbr> has partnered with the nationally acclaimed Culinary Institute of America to design menus that are both culturally relevant and informed by student tastes.<\/p>\n

A kickoff meeting was held in July with key stakeholders, marking the official launch of this innovative collaboration between education, health and agriculture sectors.<\/p>\n

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(Photo credit HIDOE<\/abbr>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A win for our keiki<\/h2>\n

The new menu initiative supports the state\u2019s push to improve nutrition, reduce food insecurity, and strengthen Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s agricultural economy. In tandem with the menu redesign, cafeteria staff across the state began training in July to build skills in preparing and serving the revamped meals.<\/p>\n

“Our students deserve meals that fuel their learning and reflect the flavors of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” HIDOE<\/abbr> Superintendent Keith Hayashi said. “This partnership is about reimagining school food to better serve our students while also strengthening our communities. We\u2019re proud to be building a model that connects education, agriculture and health in a meaningful way.”<\/p>\n

The project also helps meet goals outlined in HB<\/abbr>110 (Act 137, 2025), which reaffirms the state\u2019s commitment to sourcing at least 30% of school food locally by 2030 and 50% by 2050.<\/p>\n

“School meals are a proven way to address food insecurity for our keiki. Using more local foods to create nutritious meals is a win for our keiki, our farmers and our economy.” said First Lady Jaime Kanani Green.<\/p>\n

For more see the HIDOE<\/abbr> story<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CIP<\/abbr> helps to boost student nutrition and support local farms through school meals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":219208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[184,181,63],"class_list":["post-219203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-culinary","tag-culinary-institute-of-the-pacific","tag-kapiolani-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t