Hawaii-2012-SCR48-Introduced

WHEREAS, according to the National Survey of Children's Health, twenty-eight percent of school-aged children in Hawaii are either overweight or obese, and one in every three children born in the year 2000 in the United States will develop diabetes; and

WHEREAS, the 2003 Food Security Task Force report published by the state Office of Planning noted that over nineteen percent of Hawaii residents live in food insecure households of which most have school-aged children residing; and

WHEREAS, many children in Hawaii have limited exposure to the wide range of locally produced healthy food available and do not know where the food they eat comes from or how their food was produced or prepared; and

WHEREAS, this limited exposure and the mass availability of "junk food" leads to children being susceptible to the ubiquitous marketing of "junk food"; and

WHEREAS, the addition of locally produced fruits and vegetables in school meals will expose Hawaii's school children to high quality, local produce; and

WHEREAS, farm-to-school programs, such as planting and tending school gardens, have proven successful in supplying high quality food and provides students with knowledge to enhance their educational experience and cultivate long-term healthy eating habits; and

WHEREAS, there are several successful alternative farm-to-school programs in Hawaii through public-private partnerships and strong support from local school administrators, food service managers, teachers, parents, and students; and

WHEREAS, these programs rely on external support from non-profit organizations, such as the Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation's ‘AINA In Schools (Actively Integrating Nutrition and Agriculture In Schools), MA‘O Organic Farms, The Kohala Center through its Hawaii School Garden Hui, and the Ulupono Initiative; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health through its Healthy Hawaii Initiative is requested to convene a School Gardens Task Force to determine how best to expand a school garden program statewide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall consist of representatives from the following entities:

(1) The Department of Health's Healthy Hawaii Initiative;

(2) The Department of Agriculture;

(3) The Department of Education;

(4) The University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources;

(5) The University of Hawaii Community Colleges culinary arts programs;

(6) The Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation;

(7) The Kohala Center Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network;

(8) The Ulupono Initiative;

(9) MA‘O Organic Farms; and

(10) The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013 on its findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for legislation and funding, if necessary; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, Superintendent of Education, Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Vice President for the Community Colleges of the University of Hawaii System, Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation, The Kohala Center, Ulupono Initiative, MA‘O Organic Farms, and Hawaii Association of Independent Schools.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Task Force; School Garden Program

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	48
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII