Values-Based Procurement

Our Goal

Our goal is to build a healthy, just and sustainable food supply chain by aligning public food procurement practices at schools, hospitals and carceral facilities with the Good Food Purchasing Program standards. To do this, we advocate for local and state level policy that directs food dollars towards values-aligned suppliers.

Background

Institutional food procurement is one of the best levers we have to improve the food supply chain. In 2016, to pull this lever, our team began advocating for Bay Area schools, hospitals and carceral facilities to adopt the Good Food Purchasing Program through resolutions and ordinances.

The Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) is a framework developed by the Center for Good Food Purchasing. It is designed to help public institutions activate public dollars to shape a food system that prioritizes the purchase of food that meets one or more of five values: local and community-based economies, valued workforce, community health and nutrition, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare. Public institutions that have adopted the GFPP framework regularly evaluate how well their food purchasing supports a healthy, local, sustainable and fair food supply chain. The combination of values adoption and ongoing evaluation help shift demand for better food, while also tracking and reporting the impact of this change.

Since 2016, fourteen Bay Area institutions have implemented the Good Food Purchasing Program including 4 school districts, 5 carceral facilities and 5 hospitals. Collectively they spent more than $40 million annually on food, creating an incredible opportunity for shifting demand towards good food suppliers. Santa Clara County has demonstrated the impact that the Good Food Purchasing Program can have through implementation at county hospitals. Since the Board of Supervisors adoption of the guidelines as part of the Sustainable Purchasing Plan, the hospitals have shifted to compostable cutlery and plates, removed plastic bottles from facilities, and have signed two new contracts with local distributors. The two new contracts signed with Cream Co. Meats and Real Good Fish are helping the hospitals meet nutrition, sustainability, and animal welfare goals while supporting Bay Area based distributors who source their products from California fishers and ranchers.

As more and more institutions adopt the Good Food Purchasing Program, the changes in purchasing practices create additional demand for values-aligned food. The pool of public dollars funneled toward more local, healthy, and sustainable food will only grow as new institutions participate in the Good Food Purchasing program.