The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) will extend the Grab-and-Go school meals program by four days beyond the 2019-20 school year through June 3. The program was launched on March 23 to provide breakfast and lunch meals free of charge to children 18 years and younger during the COVID-19-related school closures.
HIDOE will transition to its summer food service program, the Seamless Summer Option (SSO), on June 4 to provide children meals over summer break. The school-based distribution sites for breakfast and lunch will be reduced to 8 schools on Hawaii Island. Sponsor sites at public agencies, churches and nonprofit organizations will begin serving meals to children at additional locations in communities to support keiki. The SSO program will run through July 17.
“The Grab-and-Go program has been an incredible support for our children and their families during this time of economic uncertainty and we thank our dedicated cafeteria workers, staff and administrators who have worked tirelessly to keep the daily meal distributions running smoothly,” Superintendent Dr. Christina Kishimoto said. “As we transition to the summer break, many of our 10-month employees will not be available to staff current sites, but partner organizations will be stepping forward to keep summer meals available at other sites in our communities.”
Parents are urged to check the new SSO school distribution list below, as the Grab-and-Go sites they currently visit may be closed on Jun. 4. Meal distribution at SSO sites will continue to provide grab-and-go servings in walk-up and drive-thru lines. Dine-in options will not be available. All children ages 18 and younger can receive one school breakfast and one lunch daily. Children do not have to be enrolled at the school distribution site and do not have to be public school students.
For special diet accommodations, please send an email to specialdiets@k12.hi.us with as much detail as possible.
Parents may pick up student meals without their children present but must provide one of the following verification documents:
- Official letter or email from school listing children enrolled.
- Recent student report card(s).
- Attendance record(s) from parent portals of school websites.
- Birth certificate(s) of children.
- Student ID card(s).
- Driver’s permit/license(s) for high school students.
- State-issued ID of the student.
Most sites will serve breakfast and lunch while others will offer lunch only (indicated in list below). Breakfast will be served from 7:30 to 8 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to noon.
School meal distribution sites continuing on June 4 through July 17, 2020 on the Big Island:
| Hawaii District |
| Kalanianaole Elementary & Intermediate |
| Ka’u High & Pahala Elementary |
| Keonepoko Elementary |
| Kohala High |
| Na’alehu Elementary |
| Pahoa High & Intermediate |
| Waiakea High |
| Waimea Elementary |
For the entire statewide school list that will provide meals after June 3, click here.