Farm to school program highlights local produce

Bananas are being shipped in from other islands for inclusion in public school students’ lunches.

w Editor’s note: This is the entirety of an article printed in TGI’s Jan. 17 Wellness section, as much of the original article was unreadable due to formatting errors.

LIHUE — Local bananas are being showcased in schools this month through the state Department of Education’s ‘Aina Pono Harvest of the Month Program. Kauai schools, though, are sourcing the fruit from other islands.

The program kicked off last year with locally grown beef as a staple in the Farm to School Initiative, and this year the DOE and Lieutenant Governor’s Office have partnered with the state Department of Agriculture to source bananas from local farms to serve at public schools.

About 34,000 pounds of bananas are being provided by several local farms, including Sugarland Growers Inc., and Ohana Banana Farms.

Bananas for the Kauai schools are being shipped to the island from Oahu, according to the DOE, because the demand is too high for Kauai suppliers to meet.

“We’re highlighting locally grown bananas by serving either a fresh banana pie or banana crumble one day in January at every school cafeteria,” said Albert Scales, administrator, DOE School Food Services Branch. “By introducing a produce that is locally grown in Hawaii to our students each month, we hope to expand their palates and allow them to try new foods that they might not have been exposed to at home.”