NEW YORK — Chicken tinola, the tasty Filipino soup dish with ginger flavor and papaya or chayote (sayote) wedges, has been included in Hawaii’s Farm to School program for public schools.

The initiative aims to provide nutritious meals to students and encourage them to eat more vegetables and fruits.

Tinola, which also features leafy vegetables such as bok choy (pechay), contains vitamins K, C, and A. Meanwhile, its green papaya adds vitamins C, B, potassium, and fiber.

According to the Hawaii State Department of Education, plans are in place to make this program regular:

“Hawai’i public schools are one of the state’s largest institutional consumers of food products, serving over 100,000 student meals a day. The Department continues to work closely with local vendors statewide to see how fresh local produce can be scaled across all schools in the future on a regular basis.”

Although new to the students’ taste buds, the dish proved popular.

Sixth grader Jayden Fukuhara of Alvah Scott Elementary School in O’ahu said the Filipino tinola was delicious.

“I’ve had something similar [that] my grandma has made for me… I thought it tasted very good,” Jayden said.

Hawaii State Department of Education

The Philippine Consulate in Honolulu also welcomed the inclusion of tinola in Hawaii’s official public school menu.

Hawaii Consul General Arman Talbo noted that nearly one-fourth of the state’s population has Filipino roots.

“We welcome this move to include Filipino food in school meals in Hawaii. Recent estimate shows that almost 25% of all residents of Hawaii is of Filipino American descent, and the expanding popularity of our cuisine in the islands shows the depth of our cultural contribution,” Talbo told GMA Integrated News in a message.

Talbo also proudly announced the upcoming Filipino Food Week next month, during which 20 restaurants in Hawaii and American Samoa will feature Filipino dishes on their menus.

“The Consulate in Hawaii will be promoting Filipino cuisine through our flagship project Filipino Food Week this October as part of the Filipino American History Month celebration. More than 20 restaurants in Hawaii and American Samoa will be serving Filipino dishes from October 18 to October 25 so that more and more people, including tourists, will have the opportunity to try and appreciate our food,” Talbo added. — VDV, GMA Integrated News