Make Room Celebrity Chefs; School Districts Lead National Change in Good Food Movement

BOULDER, Colo., March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It is not only white table cloth restaurants or celebrity chefs leading the Good Food revolution in this country. According to the national nonprofit measuring values-based procurement practices at food institutions across the country, it is an unlikely new sector leading the change: public school districts. For the first time in its history, the Center for Good Food Purchasing (the Center) has awarded a 5-star ranking with most points ever earned to the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) School Food Project.

Institutional food service facilities supply about $150 billion worth of food each year according to the Union of Concerned Scientists Purchasing Power Report in 2017, and for the past six years, the Center has harnessed the buying power of major public institutions to shift the food system – for the better. Its rigorous Good Food Purchasing Program (the Program) scores food institutions across the nation on a detailed 25-point system with five core values scored in: Local Economies, Environmental Sustainability, Valued Workforce, Animal Welfare and Nutrition. At five points earned – one baseline point in each value category – the Center designates the applicant as an official "Good Food Provider."

"This award is to be shared with all school food and nutrition professionals. It is proof positive that a school district can actually influence a local or regional food economy," said Chef Ann Cooper, Director of Food Services at BVSD. "I want our record high score to catalyze school districts everywhere to now believe they can be at the vanguard of not just school food improvement, but overall societal change."

Through local food purchasing, BVSD spent $890,700 back into Colorado's economy – over 41 percent of its total food spend, translating to over 2.19 million meals. Almost 10 percent of these purchases came from small, local farms within 200 miles of BVSD. BVSD's designation as the highest ranking Good Food Provider proves it's possible for school districts with very limited budgets to not only excel, but lead the way, in building a food system based on the Program's values without increasing food costs.

"Boulder Valley School District, under Chef Ann Cooper's leadership, has been blazing trails in the school food world for years," said Alexa Delwiche, executive director of the Center for Good Food Purchasing. "And once again, BVSD is proving exactly what's possible by investing our public food dollars in a food system that supports good jobs, regional producers, the environment, and high welfare standards for farm animals, while increasing access to healthy food for students."

With two bonus points for Value Chain Equity & Innovation, BVSD earned 27 total points, achieving this highest recognition through consistently high percentages across all five values, notably in values where many institutions typically struggle: Local Economies (41 percent), Environmental Sustainability (26 percent) and Animal Welfare (46 percent).

The Good Food Purchasing Program has been adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District, City of Los Angeles, San Francisco Unified School District, Oakland Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, and the City of Chicago. Together, these institutions spend approximately $400 million annually on food. Local efforts to support the Program's expansion are currently active in: Austin, Boulder, Cincinnati, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City and Washington D.C. There is mounting interest in at least a dozen more cities across the country, representing nearly $1 billion in institutional food purchasing power and increased access to healthier meals for millions of students.

SOURCE Center for Good Food Purchasing

Related Links

https://www.goodfoodpurchasing.org