Local restaurant takes over foodservice at school

Nov. 29—Sacred Hearts School, in Lahaina, Hawaii, has worked closely with Juan Gomez at Penne Pasta Cafe, a restaurant near the school, to create a menu of healthy, nutritious food that is both kid-friendly and delicious.

This program will replace traditional lunches lovingly prepared by Aunty Sue Kidnay for the last 25 years. Aunty Sue is retiring Dec. 19. Sacred Hearts' difficult decision to close the cafeteria came in May. Like schools and colleges everywhere, they found their traditional $3 lunch only paid a fraction of cafeteria expenses.

The carefully designed new lunch program offers nutritionally balanced $5 lunches prepared by Penne Pasta Cafe. The new program pays for itself and allows Sacred Hearts School to continue offering subsidized and free lunch to students who qualify for federal school lunch assistance.