USDA Foods

The value of USDA Foods to an SFA’s bottom line cannot be understated. USDA Foods make up between 15% and 20% of products served in the school lunch and breakfast programs. As of 2021, USDA foods represented about 1.4 billion dollars in value to US school districts. SFAs will always need to use their entitlement and USDA Foods allocations. Still, like everything else in a scratch-cook operation, the USDA foods chosen should reflect and support an SFAs program vision, food standards, and scratch-cooked goals for menus and procurement. 

An SFA receives an annual entitlement for use in the National School Lunch Program based on the number of lunches they served in the previous school year. These funds can be spent on the programs below:

1. Menu & Recipe Development - Write menus and recipes before selecting USDA Foods. SFAs should not let what is available via USDA dictate recipes and menus. USDA Foods Product Information Sheets describe the items expected to be available for schools and institutions, including a product description, product yield, case size, culinary tips, allergens, and nutritional content, and can be used after writing out menus and recipes to determine which ingredients/products can be purchased from USDA.
2. Allocating Entitlement to the Most Appropriate Program - SFAs should know where this money is best served based on the total amount allocated and what products are available in each program. SFAs should take time to review what items are available from each program, use tools like the USDA Foods Availability List, FFAVORS, and other USDA Foods online ordering catalogs; Department of Education annual surveys; past invoices from produce firms; and other information to determine what items are going to be available in the next school year and which ones align with values-aligned procurement goals.
3. Farm to School and Sustainable Food Goals - The DoD Fresh program can and does offer organic and local food options, so this USDA entitlement program is one program that can directly help you meet your values-aligned goals. The vendors providing these fresh products are regional suppliers working under contract with the DoD. In other words, these foods are sold to SFAs by the same firms you might buy from already. If these firms are not providing you with local and organic food options via the DoD catalog, ask them too. Many of these firms are responsive to customer needs and feedback. It may take more than one phone call, but because of the demand voiced by districts across the country, many of these vendors now sell organic and local items via the DoD Fresh program. 
4. Track and Spend all USDA Foods Entitlement - One of the most important things to do is make sure to use all of your entitlement funds in each program. When an SFAs does spend all of their entitlement, the SFAs should not be afraid to ask for even more entitlement, especially as the school year winds down. 

Commercial / Open Market Procurements

Most food used to make school meals comes from the “open market” or commercial markets, i.e., from traditional and nontraditional food service providers such as Broadline distributors, Food Hubs, Produce Houses, or direct from farmers. The federal government requires school district procurement practices to be fair, open, and competitive. SFAs must adhere to numerous and strict federal, state, and local guidelines regarding these purchases. The four fundamental procurement principles an SFA must take into consideration when buying values-aligned foods on the open market include:

1. Fair and Open Competition - An SFA must ensure their solicitations and purchases are full and foster open competition. SFAs should not write policies, procedures, terms, conditions, and product specifications in a solicitation in a way that restricts the number of vendors that could bid on a solicitation. Create a procurement plan and system so suppliers are on a level playing field. Avoid activities that inhibit full and open competition, such as unreasonable requirements, organizational conflicts of interest (e.g., the school awards a contract to school board members), and insufficient time is given for bidders to respond. 
2. Federal, State, and Local Regulations + District Regulations - Know the federal, state, and local regulations. State and local regulations may be more restrictive than federal policies. If a state or local threshold is more restrictive, it always supersedes the federal threshold. Local governments and school districts may set thresholds that are even more restrictive.
3. The Buy American Provision - Purchase domestically grown and domestically processed foods to the maximum extent possible. Child Nutrition Program operators are required to include a Buy American clause in all procurement procedures, product specifications, solicitations, purchase orders, and any other procurement documents.
4. Responsible and Responsive Vendors/Bidders - To be responsive, the bidder must conform to all the CNP operator’s stated terms and conditions of the solicitation. For example, if a school issues a solicitation for organic apples and the vendor responds with a bid for conventional peaches, the vendor is not responsive. To be responsible, bidders must be capable of performing successfully under the terms and conditions of the contract. For example, if a school requires that responders provide evidence of past success meeting delivery times, and, upon calling the responder’s references, learns that the vendor has a poor track record regarding on-time deliveries, the vendor would not be considered responsible.