The Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism says an estimated 85% to 90% percent of the state’s food is grown, processed and imported from the U.S. mainland, which is then delivered to school kitchens.

It’s a costly, less fresh and far less sustinable food model for the Hawaiʻi Department of Education, which serves 100,000-plus students a day — or about 18 million meals per school year — through its meals program.

What if there was a way to change that?

The Hawaiʻi Agricultural Foundation recently hosted its “Eat, Think, Drink 27: Regional Kitchens — Transforming Ag Through Strategic Investments” event on O‘ahu to discuss that issue and more.

State House Committee on Agriculture and Food Systems Chairwoman Rep. Kirstin Kahaloa of Kona, state Senate Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz of Oʻahu and state Senate Committee on Education Chairwoman Sen. Michelle Kidani of Oʻahu attended.

Kahaloa and Dela Cruz were also part of a panel of state and industry leaders in local food production to talk about the significance of the role of regional kitchens in sustainably feeding Hawaiʻi and its students.

Keynote speaker Dela Cruz presented about the state’s Nourishing Hawaiʻi’s Future initiative, aimed at increasing local food production and creating locally sourced meals for students through regional kitchens.

State Superintendent of Schools Keith Hayashi also was part of the discussion.

“The answer to both reducing our dependence on imported food and feeding our students locally is the concept of a regional kitchen,” said Dela Cruz. “Building a future based on resources already in place and using them to create a tangible system of local agriculture, regional kitchens and [Hawai‘i] Department of Education schools is a feasible solution that will create food security and contribute to economic development.”

Regional kitchens are facilities used to produce meals or individual ingredients before they are sent to different locations to serve to consumers.

This model has been successfully adopted through school districts in Washington state and California and already similarly implemented in the centralized kitchen of Zippy’s Restaurants in Waipiʻo, Oʻahu.

Strategic investments in regional kitchens have shown to help local farmers scale production by increasing market access and leveraging the power of public procurement.

Regional kitchens use local farm products to prepare meals at public schools, said Kahaloa.

“This model moves locally grown and raised products from our farms, to processing facilities, to the regional kitchens and lastly to our public schools that incorporate these ʻono grinds on our keiki’s plates,” said the Big Island lawmaker. “Students will be nourished when they can eat food grown from their communities.”

Hayashi said his department continues to work toward the state’s goal of incorporating at least 30% locally sourced foods in school meals by 2030 and 50% by 2050.

A highlight of the event included a menu created by four state Department of Education alumni, who are now chefs, and current students using locally sourced ingredients.

Hayashi said the state Department of Education is grateful for the opportunities the event provided Hawaiʻi students to learn from alumni and professionals in the food and agriculture industry.

“Including [Hawaiʻi Department of Education] in the process provides nutritious school meals for our keiki while securing local food production,” said Kidani. “It was wonderful to see alumni now as skilled chefs contributing their creations and showcasing locally grown ingredients alongside our current culinary students. Working with alumni to serve healthy, local meals will fuel our students’ success in the classroom and have a lasting impact.”