This is Stink Tech, Hawaii. Community matters here. Aloha, Maika Ko. Welcome to Hawaii Is My Main Land. My name is Kim Kuele-Bernie, and I'm sitting in for host Kaui Lukas. I'm with Papua Olalokahi, but Kaui Lukas really talks about issues of sustainability and really focusing on how we can make Hawaii a better place. And I'm in Native Hawaiian Hills, so today we have a really fabulous guest speaker that I think mixes our two missions today, and I'd like to introduce Lidie Morgan-Bernal, and you're the coordinator for Hava'i Farm to School, Haui. Yes. Welcome. Thank you so much for coming in. I've been wanting to talk to you for a long time, so maybe we can just start really broad. Like, what is Farm to School? It's kind of a national movement, right? What is Farm to School? It is national and it's international. Farm to School is about creating healthy environments for children around food in schools, and really there are three core components of Farm to School. The first being school gardens that are integrated with school curriculum, the second being education, so that could be specific to agriculture education, nutrition, food systems education, and the third being school foods, so improvements in school food sourcing more food locally from our farmers. Oh, so much to talk about. So when I think of school gardens, back in the day, even before my time, all the schools had school gardens, right? I was a parent at Manoa Elementary School, and there are these historical records that had school gardens back in the 1940s and 1950s, and maybe that came out of wartime, but all schools had gardens. Right. Just to put it in perspective, too, we're talking Ina-based education, Ina-based living, and this is, of course, the Hawaii, the legacy of Hawaii. And like you mentioned, gardens were in every school, often serving their produce to the cafeteria. That declined and has started to make a resurgence. Do we know when that reclined? Declined? That's a good question, probably, around after World War II, I think. But in the last, really, 10 years, this movement has been growing rapidly, and about 10 years ago, school-level programs and island-level networks started to form on each of the main Hawaiian islands, and in 2010, we got together, leaders of these programs and island-level networks to form a statewide hui called the Hawaii Farm to School Hui. So each of the islands has a network, has a farm to school network or a school garden network, and that's what makes up the hui. Right. As well as representatives from the State Departments of Health, Agriculture and Education. Oh, perfect. So it kind of brings them all together. Right. Yeah. Working for a Hawaiian health organization, that's important. I'm always trying to connect us with the food through the land, through the agriculture in that, so I really love to hear that. So what is your role? What is the hui's role? Right. So I coordinate our statewide hui, and we come together to share information, to collaborate on projects, and to build the statewide movement. One of the things that we have achieved so far was to help communicate to the legislature the need for a state-level farm to school program, which in 2015, the Hawaii State Legislature did pass a bill to create a farm to school program in the Hawaii Department of Education, and we do have a coordinator whose name is Robin Fahl, and we work closely together to build the movement, look at what is needed to really enable farmers to supply food to schools, what is needed to support the school gardens that are already growing in 83% of public schools in Hawaii, and being used for instruction. 83% of public schools have school gardens right now. That's right. I had no idea. So there's an annual safety and wellness survey administered by the Department of Health and Education that shows a steady growth in the use of school gardens as an instructional tool in schools, and largely used for science, also Hawaiian studies and health education and other subjects. Of course. Yeah. You can teach nutrition. That's right. So 83% is a really good percentage for the number of school gardens. How many of those schools actually serve the food that's growing on their property? That's a great question, because currently within the Hawaii Department of Education, there is no protocol allowing that school garden or school food farm grown produce to be served in the cafeteria. Students use that produce that is generated by school gardens, school learning gardens, to essentially develop a relationship with healthy, locally grown food. So that is really the key importance of the school garden component of Farm to School, is that kids are developing this firsthand connection with food and where it comes from. And that is so important, and I don't mean to take away from that, I mean to develop a relationship, excuse me, with the land is so important. But do you think it's possible to kind of, will it take time to work on some of those policy issues that really prohibit that food from being served in the schools? Yes, it's something our Huey has aspired to, you know, since our formation in 2010. And I will say, you know, with the, with the Department of Agriculture stepping up to say yes, we will have a Farm to School program and coordinator in our department. That has made a lot of progress for being able to serve not only locally grown food from local farmers but also school food farm grown food in school cafeterias. And those conversations are happening, that work is happening. And what we are looking at is having the Department of Education develop their own Farm to School program that works in conjunction with Department of Ag and our Huey community partners to open those doors for the sourcing of locally grown foods in school food and also for to support the educational aspects of this work. So there must be curriculum already? Curriculum? Yeah, actually a couple examples include the Kokua Hawaii Foundation Aina in Schools curriculum, which is Agriculture and Nutrition and Waste Reduction Education, focused on K6. They hold trainings around the state. Also, the Kohala Center has been a leader in bringing together seasoned educators to develop what's called the School Garden Curriculum Map, which actually really helps to align what teachers need to be teaching to the common core standards, Hawaii State Performance Standards, with how you can apply that to school learning gardens. So as a coordinator, you, what do you personally, what does your average week look like? So I just love what I do. It's really inspiring. I really started out actually as a garden educator and found that when you bring gardens and students, children together, that's where the love is. It's so wonderful to see students be inspired by gardening and inspired not only to grow food, but learning in general, right? Learning really comes to life in a school garden. So that, you know, set me on the course for understanding the importance of this work. And what I get to do now as the coordinator of our hui is bring together our members and follow through on what we decide as a group to focus on. What kind of community partnerships are required in order to do that, in order to move the movement forward? So as I mentioned on each island, there are island level networks and those are hosted by non-profit organizations such as Kohala Center. Such as Kohala Center and we have Malama Kawa'i hosting the Kawa'i School Garden Network Sustainable Molokai hosting the Molokai School Garden Network. On Oahu, it's specific resources for education and learning is hosting the Oahu Farm to School Network and Kohala Center and the Big End. And then Maui School Garden Network is also very active. So there, you know, these programs are largely funded by private entities. And what we need, the need is to have the public-private partnership with the state agencies. Absolutely. And the Department of Health is one that has really recognized the natural connection between farm to school and improved student health and school community health as well. Oh, I love that. And so Department of Health, Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education. And all of that, how big a part does this play in the governor's initiative to double food production? Right. The governor's initiative is, I think, you know, farm to school, I see so many of the questions and problems that we see in our state, farm to school, having the answers to those. So I know that in our state, people have said, how can we get more locally grown food into school meals? That's right. And that's been a question for many years. But it's really taken dedicated programs first in the Department of Agriculture and working toward the Department of Education, having positions to really open those doors and make those connections happen. And if it's a natural thing for the children, then we'll just have a whole, you know, we're just starting a whole generation that will see it as a norm, a social norm, to start growing their own food. Right. Yeah. Any data on whether children actually take those lessons home and start growing gardens at home? Absolutely. We've heard it. We hear it anecdotally all the time from parents with kids at a school that has a school garden, starting gardens at home. The Aina in Schools program with the Kokua Hawaii Foundation is very unique because they actually train volunteers to deliver all of the garden and nutrition lessons. So parents that may not have ever had experience gardening, get to come in, get trained, and then teach to garden lessons, and they're learning right along with the children. Right. Which is really wonderful. So they can take those lessons home, they can take them to their community, to their extended family. Right. A moment ago, you talked about the SAWS report, something and wellness. Tell me. Safety and wellness. Safety and wellness. So what other data comes out of that study? So that study actually measures schools' implementation of the wellness policy, which is mandated for all public non-charter schools to have. So it measures all of the parts of that policy, including the use of school gardens for academic instruction. So like I said, we do have that data and science. So we can actually say that as of the 2015-16 school year, 51% of all public non-charter schools use a school garden for science instruction. That's wonderful. Yeah. So it's happening. And you talked about research as well. The National Farm to School Network is the organizing body at the national level for this movement. They have a wonderful publication called the Benefits of Farm to School that looks at studies showing benefits in many different areas from academic achievement improvements. And the CDC even is one that recognizes the link between physical activity and academic achievement. Right. And healthy eating, of course. Where does Hawaii land in that, in this national look at farm to school? So when we passed the legislation to create a state-level program, we became a 20th state to have a farm to school program in our state government. And so your position is housed in the government? Actually my position is not, because the HUI is now a program of the Hawaii Public Health Institute, which is a nonprofit organization. But my counterpart in the state government is Robin Fall, who's with the Department of Agriculture. Uh-huh. Oh, good. So it really is a partnership. I mean, it really is kind of like our, I don't want to, well, compared to our Marine National Monument, it's kind of a partnership of many different governmental and private organizations. It is. And it's really amazing to see what we can do when we come together. When we meet quarterly to communicate with each other and make progress to build this movement. And other states, in fact, have looked to our HUI and our statewide network as a model for the level of communication and collaboration that is happening. Oh, as a model for other states. Right. Oh, fantastic. So we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, then maybe we can talk about what we're doing that's special or unique. You know, how are we a model to other places? Right. Very good. Thank you. Aloha. I'm Tim Apochella, host for Moving Hawaii Forward, a show dedicated to transportation issues and traffic. We identify those areas where we do have problems in the state, but also the show is dedicated to trying to find solutions, not just detail our problems. So join me every other Tuesday on Moving Hawaii Forward. I'm Tim Apochella. Thank you. Go into the game and it's going to be great early arriving for a little tailgate. I usually drink, but won't be drinking today because I'm the designated driver and that's okay. It's nice to be the guy that keeps his friends in line, keeps them from drinking too much so we can have a great time. A little responsibility can go a long way because it's all about having fun on game day. I'm the guy you're going to be. I'm the guy, say good morning. I'm the guy with the H2O. And I'm the guy that says, let's go. Aloha and welcome back to Hawaii is my mainland. My name is Kim Koole Bernie. I'm sitting in for your host, Kauai Lukas, and we're talking to Lydie Morgan Bernal, who is the state coordinator for the Farm to School Hui here in Hawaii. And we were just talking about how the Hawaii Hui is a model for other places, other places across the United States. Tell us, what's so special? You know, it's the same way that Hawaii is special in the world. I think we have the spirit of aloha, the spirit of collaboration and willingness to work together. So is it the way we collaborate? I think so. And when it comes to growing food, obviously, you know, we can be a model for regenerative community food systems for the world. Regenerative community food systems, I like that. So are you saying that other states aren't doing that, aren't putting together these partnerships? I think they certainly are, and we often look to other states for their best practices, and the National Farm to School Network, and there's also a National School Garden Network. Those two organizations will typically host webinars, conferences, trainings, where state leaders can come in, collaborate, and go forward. I see some of those webinars every once in a while. A lot of that comes across my desk at Papua Olalokahi, and I get real excited when I see those kinds of programs. So I know that there are some special initiatives that you're tackling right now, too. Can you tell us about some of them? Certainly. And one of the ones that I wanted to share is about outreach around that rat lungworm disease. Oh, how are you involved in that? So I personally actually had three friends that had gotten the disease several years ago. Two on my radio, two on Hawaii Island, and one on Maui. And so I personally recognized the need to be proactive about prevention, and especially for students. So really how we look at this is not something to hide and shy away from, but an opportunity to educate and to prevent, right? That's the most important thing. So what we did in 2015 and 2016 was to develop a best practices for Hawaii School Gardens manual. And that is available through our website. We also have worked with the UA… What is your website? Okay. So HawaiiSchoolGardenHui.org. HawaiiSchoolGardenHui.org. Got it. Yes. And there are more resources. If you look at the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's webpage and click on the Farm to School link, or just Google. So any school, anybody really can go to your website and download that. And some of the tips are wash your vegetables and what else. Wash your hands. So really in a school garden, we're taking it to the next level through the work of UH Hilo College of Pharmacy. We work with a researcher there named Kay Howe, H-O-W-E. And their lab, Susan Jarvis' lab, are really the experts in the state they've been doing the research as much as they can to understand the disease because there was quite a bit of research from what we understand when the first few cases came out and then almost nothing for the last several decades. So one of their concerns is water catchment and the fact that the larvae can live inside catchments, especially in punna volcano areas like that, which is all water catchment. Right. So when it comes to school gardens, Kay is developing a curriculum and she has piloted it on the Big Island to help teachers and students really do science projects around this issue. So they're setting traps for slugs and snails, testing which ones work best, and then identifying, learning to identify the different species. We really also don't know what species are where in this state. So the way that we look at this is an opportunity to have real data collection put into a database for policymakers to make better decisions about what's happening. And it's so necessary. So the WHOIS role is really around that community education and developing the manual. Right. So we develop resources like the best practices manual. We offer professional development. For example, how do you... For farmers. Well, mostly for educators at this point. How do you integrate a school garden program with your classroom, core curriculum? Those are the types of professional development. We recently held the Farm to School Symposium in conjunction with the Hawaii Ag Conference. Right. That was recently, right? Yeah. Just a few weeks ago. And our members have held school garden conferences for educators for many years. And we are planning a student school garden conference for March of this next year. So students will be the presenters. Right. Exactly. Yes. So that's a whole educational piece right there. They learn how to be presenters, put together presentations, what's important to convey. Right. And what's wonderful about gardens, again, is that typically, you know, it can... It's about equity too, because the way that students are taught for the most part in a school doesn't fit the educational needs of every student. Right. So, you know, we often hear of a student that doesn't do well, can't focus well in a classroom will be the shining star in a garden. Well, Makahana ka ike, right, who is through the work that one learns, and that some students just excel in the Hana. We also know of more and more school counselors using the garden to provide one-on-one counseling for students, and guidance counseling for the classes that they teach. Hoa Aina o Makaha, which is a five-acre farm next to Makaha Elementary. Elementary school is really a leader in our movement. They've been around for 35 years. Right. And it's a place of peace. You know, Gigi Kokio, who is the founder, has seen generations of students come back and say, the only thing I remember about my entire elementary experience is coming to the garden. Wow. So that's the kind of lifelong impact that gardens have, that tasting fresh foods that you've planted, cared for, and harvested, that leaves a lifelong impact. Yeah, where I work, we're in the process of updating the Eolamal Report. So we're talking about this food and nutrition piece. And in order to do that, we're going back into the history. And really the only entities that existed in growing your own food were Ka'ala Farm. It was called Ka'ala Farm then, with Eric Enos, and Gigi's at Hoa Aina. Right. Yeah, so it's nice to hear you mention that. And now they're just so many more. There are. Right. So there's another initiative. What else are you involved? What else is the hui involved with? So I also would love to mention the Farm to School Initiative that's spearheaded by the Lieutenant Governor, Shansetsui, in partnership with the Department of Education School Food Services Branch, where they actually... Yes. I want to get into the school food services. So in last school year, 2016, 2017, they initiated a pilot to actually totally revamp the food that served on students' plates. So they were working with Ka'ala Elementary, Middle and High School on Hawaii Island and local farmers. So a consultant was hired to basically bring in the skills needed and then worked really closely with students and cafeteria staff to ask, you know, what is it you want to eat? What is it you want to serve? So kind of modifying local favorites to be scratch-cooked, healthy... Scratch-cooked. And locally served. Which is how it used to be, right? When I was growing up, schools were like that. But then it kind of moved into the cafeteria, folks heated food, heated up food. But now we want to get them into producing it themselves, right? It's true. And there are also efforts to have central kitchens where, you know, a sauce might be made using locally grown foods, including farm seconds that may not be the beautiful ones offered to the... The mushi tomato. Yeah. Well, other... It's still good. Yeah, exactly. We can look at ways to, you know, make the costs also work. Absolutely. Yeah. So it's not so prohibitive. So I know that with the Department of Education, you're mostly working with public schools. And I have some mo'opuna that go to schools. And so two schools specifically, and they're both Aipono schools. And that means a caterer comes in and they eat Aipono.  So it's always healthy. And we're not allowed to take sugar sweets to those schools. So I'm looking forward to when all the schools have that, have to have those guidelines. Absolutely. Yes. Blue, taro on every plate. Yes. The Department of Ag Farm to School program is kicking off a harvest of the month program where a local item will be featured each month. And this is also in conjunction with Kokua Hawaii Foundation that has beautiful educational resources. Yes. Like October is always pumpkin month, right? That's right. And to mention October, it is Farm to School month. So it's been National Farm to School month for a number of years. And this year in the legislature, they passed the bill to designate October as Farm to School month in Hawaii. Oh, very good. So what's going to be happening? We've got about a minute to talk about the activities this month. So we're excited to kick off Farm to School month this Sunday on October 1st at the Hawaii State Capitol with Children and Youth Day. It's a free event from 10 to 3, and we're going to have a Farm to School zone on the Iolani Palace grounds. So come and look for us. We're also giving away free kālohu li for those that can promise to take good care of them. Oh, they can take it home. Yeah. And plant them. Yes. Grow your own food. Yes. Grow your own. Take kāloa home with you. Oh, terrific. And any other activities going on throughout the month? Well, you can look on the Department of Agriculture Farm to School website for list of activities. And also, if you have your own, such as any kind of garden building day at your school, do plan that and let us know about it. We can share that. You can email us at farm at F2S. Farm to School, F2S. F2S at hawaii.gov, so that's the letter F, number two, and letter S. In a couple of seconds, what last message do you want to make sure that people get? It's about connecting to the source of our well-being, the aina, and aipono. Right. It's more than just food. I mean, we are what we eat. And if we all internalize that, then we'll eat better, we'll eat better. And we'll be happier. Yes. Yes, absolutely. And we're connected. Oh, good. Well, thank you so much. Lydie. Lydie Morgan-Burnall here visiting coordinator of the Farm to School, Kui. We're here in Hawaii. We're so glad to have you. And I'm sure that Kauai will want to have you back again because she's really missing out on not being able to speak with you. I know she wants to. Yeah. And our movement continues to grow. So happy. The movement continues to go. And I think that we at Papua Lulukahi will want to talk with you a little bit more too and figure out where we can intersect, you know, what opportunities for partnership. Yes. Thank you so much. I'm Kim Kule, Bernie. I'm sitting in for Kauai Lucas today on Hawaii is my mainland. To Bahá'u'lláh to Lydie Morgan-Burnall and Aloha.