Nourishing the Next Generation
Curstyn Yoshimoto
Through its Food 4 Keiki School Pantry, Nānākuli Elementary School partners with Hawai‘i Foodbank and ‘Elepaio Social Services to provide its students with greater access to safe, nutritious food.
Hunger can be quite unforgiving — even when it comes to the littlest members of our ‘ohana. Twenty-nine percent of Hawai‘i’s keiki are currently struggling with food insecurity, which means they are not receiving enough food for an active, healthy life. Even worse, 6% of our keiki are going without food for whole days at a time. On the Leeward coast of O‘ahu, thousands of students rely solely on school-provided free meals and snacks to get them through each day. This reigns true for many keiki at Nānākuli Elementary School, located on the west side of O‘ahu.
Before knowing of resources like the Food 4 Keiki School Pantry program, Principal Lisa Higa took it upon herself to provide support out of her own pocket for students who came to school without food.
“I used to have students come to me, and I used to be the one providing the healthy snack, whatever it would be,” she shares.
However, it wasn’t just a few hungry kids.
After the health team and teachers expressed concerns about students often being distracted in the classroom and going to the health room with stomach aches due to hunger, Nānākuli Elementary sought a solution to better support their students’ needs.
Last school year, the school started a Food 4 Keiki School Pantry with Hawai‘i Foodbank and ‘Elepaio Social Services, distributing healthy snacks and additional bags of food (“pantry bags”) weekly for students to bring home to their families.
“It’s offered to every single child,” says Nani Estevez, food distribution program manager at ‘Elepaio Social Services and main facilitator of the School Pantries. “If the child is not on the list the day of the Pantry, they can still sign up regardless. We don’t tell anybody no,” she explains. “Who am I to say what their home situation is like?”
As an affiliate of the Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and agency partner of Hawai‘i Foodbank, ‘Elepaio Social Services hosts School Pantries at several public and charter schools on the Leeward Coast of O‘ahu — helping keiki and their families access more nutritious foods without the financial strain that can come with making healthier choices. For many households, “It’s either paying a bill or buying groceries,” says Nani. “The food insecurity down here is so high, and it doesn’t help that the cost of living and the cost of food is going up so much,” she adds.
Every Tuesday afternoon, ‘Elepaio brings a truckload of food from Hawai‘i Foodbank to Nānākuli Elementary, and from there, Nani’s small but mighty team readily packs it in bags for easy pick-up after dismissal.
With smiles from ear to ear, students walk up by classroom to the School Pantry to pick up their healthy snack bags, and some meet their family members to help carry additional pantry bags home, too. A variety of shelf-stable and fresh food items are offered each week. Leftover snacks from the School Pantry are distributed to the school’s health room. “They really count on it, you know? It’s not wasted,” Lisa says.
With fresh fruits like pineapples, papayas, pears, kiwis and apples, the School Pantry at Nānākuli Elementary has helped distribute over 8,300 pounds of produce to its students and their families since the start of the program. The school has served as many as 587 children during a single distribution — which includes students and their siblings at home — based on a one-day high attendance.
“Our students come a lot more prepared in the sense of being ready to learn ... It’s not just the academic side, but to look at the whole child and ensure that all their basic needs are being met.”
Now in its second year, Lisa says the School Pantry has made a big difference.“I think our students come a lot more prepared in the sense of being ready to learn,” she explains. “I’m just grateful. It’s not just the academic side, but to look at the whole child and ensure that all their basic needs are being met.”
Hawai‘i Foodbank recognizes the important connection between health and hunger, and the particular need for nutritious food for our keiki. Children who experience food insecurity can face an increased risk of cognitive issues, aggression, anxiety, behavioral problems, hospitalization, depression, and suicidal ideation. By ensuring that our keiki have enough to eat through initiatives like the School Pantry program, we can collaboratively help safeguard their healthy development and nurture their ability to thrive in the classroom.
Nani says that beyond providing food, School Pantries help struggling families have peace of mind. “You know that, if you don’t send your child to school with a fruit or snack, there’s somewhere on campus that has it,” she says.
“Just making sure that the family needs are met at home beyond the school day — that connection, that partnership, I would like to continue as long as we can. I think it’s a great service, from the Foodbank, as well as ‘Elepaio, to make an impact in our community.”
And despite the stigma that often comes with receiving help, to the keiki and their families receiving food, the School Pantry brings hope. “Seeing the excitedness, the eagerness — we have families coming out of the car now to pick up from the Pantry,” says Lisa.
Rather than feeling shameful, they can go home feeling empowered, knowing they can put food on the table.
Lisa adds, “Just making sure that the family needs are met at home beyond the school day — that connection, that partnership, I would like to continue as long as we can. I think it’s a great service, from the Foodbank, as well as ‘Elepaio, to make an impact in our community.”
For more information on School Pantries and all of Hawai‘i Foodbank’s Food 4 Keiki programs, visit HawaiiFoodbank.org/keiki.
