Incorporating Local Preference Language in School Food Contracts

Contracts with food service management companies and food distributors are an important tool for influencing local foods sourcing at your school or institution. By stating your local food goals clearly and developing strong evaluation criteria, you can select companies that will best support your local food program and be able to hold these companies accountable throughout the contract length. Some key tips include:

1. Structure your solicitation as a Request for Proposals rather than an Invitation for Bid. This allows for greater descriptions of the qualitative factors you seek in a vendor rather than simply evaluating based on the lowest cost. It also allows you to award multiple contracts, enabling you to select vendors that specialize in local foods in addition to broadline vendors.
2. Provide a clear definition of what local means to your institution within the request.
3. Set expectations for product tracking and traceability.
4. Develop effective criteria for evaluating proposals.

There are some great toolkits developed by USDA and regional organizations to help you implement these practices.

• For in depth information on incorporating local preferences and staying within Federal procurement guidelines, view this procurement guide and series of webinars from USDA.
• Check out this guide from Farm to Institution New England (FINE) about leveraging food service management company contracts to source local. 
• This guide from FINE will help you work with your distributor to source local foods. It includes sample questions to ask distributors before signing new contracts.

Sample Bids and Contracts

The USDA Farm to School Program maintains examples of strong solicitations that use different strategies to target local foods. These include both informal and formal solicitations (Requests for Proposals (RFP’s) or Invitations for Bid (IFB’s)) and contracts with effective language to encourage local sourcing by distributors or Food Service Management Companies such as:

• Requiring product traceability or source of origin labeling
• Using geographic preference
• Having strong evaluation criteria
• Providing detailed product specifications

You can see excerpts from many of these sample contracts in the USDA’s Procuring Local Foods Guide (beginning on page 115).  

Request additional examples that meet your specific goals or ask for further technical assistance by contacting the USDA Farm to School Northeast Regional Lead. See full contact information at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/usda-farm-school-staff

Mass. Farm to School is also available to provide technical assistance as you develop your bids. Contact us at info@massfarmtoschool.org to request assistance.