Nutrition Services Farm to School Procurement Procedure

Nutrition Services Department – Farm to School Procurement Policy

I. Guidelines and Goals

  • Nutrition- This policy shall serve as a point of reference and provide guidance, to procurement processes initiated by the District in meeting its food service and nutritional goals, in conjunction with the District’s Purchasing Procedures.
  • Nutrition- This policy shall not supersede the scoring criteria for individual procurement process.
  • Nutrition- This policy shall pertain to all local food and farm products.
  • The goal of the Food Services Department is to increase local food procurement incrementally by 3-5 percent each year.
  • This policy intends to ensure that there is increase community confidence in, and an accountability framework through which the Nutrition Department staff align its Farm to School Procurement Policy in meeting its food service and nutritional goals, in conjunction with the Buy American Act.
  • This policy intends to ensure compliance by Nutrition Services Department staff with all relevant legislative requirements, codes of practice, policies, procedures and any other requirements.
  • This policy is intended to ensure that there are appropriate, open and transparent public reporting processes in place.
  • This policy is intended to ensure that there are efforts to developing conducive partnerships. 

II. Geographic Preference

  • Vendor responses with production sites located within a 250-mile distance from the District Nutrition Center shall be considered local.
  • Geographic preference may be one of the criteria assigned point value within the scoring rubric for procurement processes initiated by the District.
    1. Vendor responses with production sites located within area defined as local may receive additional scoring during a procurement process.
    2. Vendor responses with production sites located within Fresno County may receive additional scoring during a procurement process.    
  • The District may solicit vendor proposals requesting items be delivered within a 24-48 hour period upon harvest and/or processing.
    1. Vendor responses including a 24-48 hour delivery upon harvest and/or processing may receive additional scoring during a procurement process.
  • The District’s goal is to increase, annually, the percentage of local food products it purchases. 

III. Supply Chain Preference

  • Vendor responses demonstrating that small- and medium-sized operations constitute at least 5 percent of its supply in their proposals may receive additional scoring during a procurement process.
    1. The District defines a small-sized operation as one that generates between $1,000 and $250,000 in gross annual sales.
    2. The District defines a medium-sized operation as one that generates up to $1 million in gross annual sales.

IV. Educational Opportunities Preference

  • Vendor responses demonstrating a commitment to engage in the educational experience of the District’s students may receive additional scoring during a procurement process.
    1. Examples of the District’s preferred student educational engagement activities include same-day field trips to operation facilities, classroom visits, student taste tests, nutrition education, etc. 

V. Federal Micro-Purchase Threshold

  • The District’s goal is to increase, annually, the percentage of contracts awarded to responsive and responsible vendors with proposals equal to or below the Federal micro-purchase threshold as determined by Federal Acquisition Regulation.
  • Micro-Purchase contracts intend to support small operations’ participation in the District’s Nutrition Services Department procurement process.
  • Micro-Purchase contracts intend to support the inclusion of seasonal and multicultural items in the District’s Nutrition Services Department programs to meet nutritional goals.
  • The District’s preference is to contact responsive and responsible vendors offering local products.

VI. Small Purchase Threshold

  • Please reference the District’s Purchasing Limits procedure for the current small purchase threshold.
  • The District’s goal is to, at a minimum; maintain the current annual percentage of contracts awarded to responsive and responsible vendors with proposals within the District’s small purchase threshold.
    1. Small Purchase contracts intend to support small- and medium-sized operations’ participation in the District’s Nutrition Services Department procurement process and programs to meet nutritional goals.  

VII.  Forward Contracting

  • The District may solicit proposals from responsive and responsible vendors for food products in advance of their harvest and delivery.
    1. Contracts shall be competitively procured based on their respective threshold amount.   

VIII. Procurement Process Training and Outreach

  • The District shall provide a workshop at least once a year to review its Nutrition Services Department procurement process with prospective vendors.
    1. The District shall secure the attendance of at least ten (10) representatives of small- and medium-sized operations at each workshop.
  • The District shall provide a step-by-step guide for securing a procurement contract with its Nutrition Services Department at every threshold amount.
    1. This guide(s) shall be available in at least two (2) languages other than English.
    2. The District shall actively circulate this guide(s) with prospective vendors within area defined as local.
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