A Sustainable Approach to Buying School Food

U.S. schools serve 7.5 billion meals annually. School districts plan their own menus and are responsible for buying all food for their school meals. The process of sourcing, purchasing, and contracting of food and other goods and services is known as procurement.

School districts can leverage their purchasing power to buy ingredients that align with their sustainability goals. They can prioritize buying local, organic, and sustainably-grown ingredients for meals. Additionally, they can collaborate with vendors who share their values regarding animal welfare, workers’ rights, and climate-smart agriculture. 

Putting this into practice can be tricky; it’s not as simple as going to the grocery store each week. School districts have to follow complex regulations when purchasing food for school meals, meet federal nutrition standards, and balance tight budgets. Let’s learn how it’s done!

• Districts must follow the Buy American Provision and purchase domestic foods whenever possible.
• How a district buys food depends on the estimated value of the purchase. As the dollar amount increases, the required documentation and vendor evaluation become more detailed and complex. A solicitation is a document used by districts to outline the foods they want to buy. It notifies potential vendors (such as farmers and distributors) of the district’s needs.
• Districts can outline their geographic preferences when procuring food, allowing them to favor local foods when comparing bids. There is no federal definition of local, so each school district can create its own. Common definitions include products grown within a certain number of miles, within a specific county, or within the state.
• Districts can consider factors beyond price that align with their values. Districts can consider environmental sustainability, animal welfare, climate-smart agriculture practices, and more when making purchasing decisions. 

A Budget Balancing Act

The current federal reimbursement rate for school lunch is about $4.60 for each student meal. But not all of that goes toward food. That amount also covers labor, benefits, operational costs, supplies, and equipment repairs. After those expenses are taken out, there’s about $1.50 left for food. 

Given this, it’s not realistic for districts to purchase only organic foods or all local products; many prioritize specific items as much as they’re able, such as local apples, local milk, pasture-raised beef, or organic spinach.

What Types of Vendors Can Districts Buy From?

• Broadline distributors: Large national companies like Sysco can obtain and deliver most of the food that schools need. However, they may not have relationships with local or smaller vendors. 
• Food processors: These facilities turn raw ingredients into ready-to-eat items, such as slicing fruit or turning chicken into chicken patties. 
• Individual producers: Local farmers, ranchers, and fisherfolk who grow, raise, and catch food. 
• Aggregators and food hubs: These businesses aggregate, store, and deliver products from multiple local or regional producers. They may offer minimal food processing, such as washing and chopping vegetables.
• USDA Foods: Schools receive annual funding (also called entitlement dollars) to order American-grown products (produce, meats, grains, dairy products, etc.). USDA manages this program. 

Overview of the Procurement Process

Upholding Sustainable Values Through Procurement

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