THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              7
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  RESOLUTION

  URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO USE HAWAII-GROWN FOOD
    PRODUCTS AT LEAST ONE DAY EACH MONTH IN ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL
    FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS.
 


 1        WHEREAS, agriculture is a $2,900,000,000 industry in
 2   Hawaii, and the production of diversified crops rose ten
 3   percent in 1999; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, papaya production is expected to grow
 6   dramatically in the near future, and banana production is
 7   already high enough to supply the entire local market; and
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, production of crops throughout Hawaii will begin
10   to "chip away" at the dependence on imported vegetables and
11   melons in the coming year; and
12   
13        WHEREAS, more farmers are acquiring former sugar lands for
14   fruits, including breadfruit, jackfruit, loquat, lychee,
15   rambutan, low-acid pineapple, starfuit, and many additional
16   exotic fruits; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, as production increases, farmers are finding it
19   difficult to market their products out of State for a variety
20   of reasons, including the cost of exports, irradiation issues,
21   and competition with growers in other regions; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, the development of additional markets in the
24   State for food products grown in Hawaii provides an economic
25   benefit for both the farmers and the consumers purchasing these
26   local food products; and
27   
28        WHEREAS, in addition to the retail market, large
29   institutional users in Hawaii can also benefit from including
30   more local food products, both in terms of freshness of the
31   products and in savings on shipping and storage costs; and
32   
33        WHEREAS, one such large institutional user is the
34   Department of Education, with over two hundred fifty schools

 
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                                  S.R. NO.              7
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   and 185,000 students; and
 2   
 3        WHEREAS, these schools offer a variety of daily food
 4   service programs for students, teachers, and staff year round;
 5   and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, in addition to health and other benefits, using
 8   more Hawaii-grown food products would give the Department of
 9   Education the opportunity to promote the importance of
10   agriculture and local food products among the youth of the
11   State; now, therefore,
12   
13        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
14   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, that the
15   Department of Education is urged to use Hawaii-grown food
16   products at least one day each month in all public school food
17   service programs; and
18   
19        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
20   Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education
21   and the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.
22 
23 
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25                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________