Hawaii Foodbank expands SUN Meals to keep Kauai keiki fed this summer

Kauai families will be able to send keiki to free summer meal sites across the island without filling out an application, a practical help as school breakfast and lunch end and household food bills rise. The program, SUN Meals, is aimed at bridging the gap between the last bell of the school year and the return of campus meal service.

On Kauai, the 2026 sites include the Anahola Clubhouse, Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii locations, the Kapaa Clubhouse, the Līhue Clubhouse next to the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall, the Hanapēpē Neighborhood Center, the Kapaa Neighborhood Center, the Kekaha Neighborhood Center, Kōloa Elementary School, the Līhue Neighborhood Center and the Wailua Golf Course. The spread puts meals within reach in communities from the North Shore to the West Side and down to Kōloa, instead of concentrating service in one town.

Any child age 18 and under can eat free through SUN Meals, and no application is required. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the program can be offered at schools, parks and neighborhood locations, with some rural communities also offering take-home meal options. That no-paperwork approach matters for parents balancing work schedules, childcare and transportation while school is out.

The need on Kauai is not small. Hawaii Foodbank Kauai says 1 in 3 households on the island currently face food insecurity, and the local network works with nearly 40 agency partners to move food where it is needed. Hawaii Foodbank says its Food 4 Keiki efforts are designed to support children during the school year and during extended breaks, underscoring that summer hunger is part of a larger, year-round problem rather than a seasonal inconvenience.

Statewide, Hawaii Foodbank has said 34% of households with children experienced food insecurity, up from 29% in 2023, a reminder that many families depend on school meals to keep budgets stable. Laura Zysman, Hawaii Foodbank’s director of keiki nutrition, has said tens of thousands of children statewide rely on school meals, which is why summer feeding programs carry so much weight.

Families who need more than one food source this summer may also look at SUN Bucks. The Hawaii Department of Human Services says the 2026 operating period runs from May 30 through August 2, 2026, and qualifying households receive $189 per child. DHS said about 80,000 children statewide were approved for SUN Bucks in summer 2025, totaling roughly $14 million. For Kauai parents, the immediate takeaway is simple: free summer meals are coming, and children 18 and under can get them without signing up.