Farm to School Buying Local

Farm to SchoolBuying Local

Presented by:

Farm to School and Bureau of Nutrition Programs and Services

October 14, 2015

Why is Buying Local Important?

Connecting students to environment

Connecting students to local farms

Keeping local dollars local

Builds community by supporting a local business

Smaller carbon footprint

GAP versus GHP

Good Agricultural Practices

How things are grown

Good Handling Practices

How things are handled

Buying Local…

Define Local

Plan

P

urchase (forecast need)

Decide How Much is “buying local”

W

orth to You (setting evaluation criteria)

Advertise Need

Evaluate Responses

Award Contract/Purchase Order

Manage Contract/Purchase Order

Procurement Process

Plan/Forecast Purchase

Create Specifications

Advertise Solicitation

Award Contract

Manage Contract

Informal Procurement: “Three Bids and a Buy”

Develop a Specification

Macoun apple, US. No. 1, 2- 138 count boxes delivered twice a week for Sept-November.

Solicit Bids

Contact vendors (by phone, fax, email, in-person or via mail) and provide them with specifications ( if calling, read same information to each vendor)

Bid Documentation

Write down each vendor’s bid, whether they can meet your requirements, and which vendor you choose, then file it.

Contract Administration

Make sure you got what your were supposed to – inspect your delivery, and ask for a credit or reject the delivery if it does not meet your standards.

Note: If a vendor consistently does not meet your standards, you can consider them “Not Responsible” in your next procurement process.

Defining Local

It’s Up to YOU!

You can define local as:

Within a certain Mile Radius

Within the County

Within a certain Region

Within the State

BUT YOU CANNOT LIMIT COMPETITION

You can change your definition of local based on the product that you are buying

Apples

Your local definition might be the State of NH

Fish

Your local definition might be the Eastern Seaboard, as far south as Virginia

Preference versus Specification

Buying Local, or applying a Geographic Preference, is a PREFERENCE only. It is

not

a SPECIFICATION.

You need to decide how many points you will award for bid responses that meet your definition of “local.”

Use Your Words…Requesting a Local Variety that is Unique to the Region

Before:

Cortland Apple, US Fancy

5 185-count boxes per week, for September-December

After:

Cortland Apple,

or local variety

US Fancy or

No. 1

Prefer

5 185-count boxes per week,

but willing to consider other pack sizes

, for September-December

Delivered within 48 hours of harvest, during season

Include your Desire for Local in the Introduction

A school’s interest in purchasing local products (and the broader context of its farm to school program) can be expressed in the introduction to a solicitation.

Remember: a school

may not

specify that it wants only local products.

A school

may

indicate its desire to serve local products and emphasize the importance of its farm to school program.

Contact

ONLY LOCAL

vendors (by phone, fax, email, in-person or via mail); provide them with specifications (or if calling, read same information to each vendor

).

(applicable only if informal or micro purchase)

What is Available? Use to help build specifications

Consider seasonality when planning menus

Produce costs

less

when in season

Local produce may be available

Use AMS Market News to identify trends and average prices

Potential Specifications, Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria to Target Local Products

Particular varieties unique to the region

Freshness (e.g. Delivered within 48 hours)

Size of farm

Harvest techniques

Crop diversity

Origin labeling

Able to provide farm visits or class visits.

Others:

Certified Organic

No-till

Pesticide Free or IPM

Grass-fed

Cage Free

Additional Criteria

Three References

Able to provide harvest tour of farm to two 3

rd

grade classes, in October

Able to be present at the school’s Meet Your Farmer event on September 29

Procuring Local Foods: Do’s

If you want to purchase local products for your program, you CAN:

Contact 3 local vendors when doing “3 bids and a buy”

Specify a variety of the product that is grown here.

Example: Macoun apples instead of Granny Smith

Request “Farm of Origin” Labeling

Request produce harvested within 48 or 24 hours

Request services such as farm visits or meet-the-farmer presentations, along with the product.

Use “Geographic Preference” when purchasing unprocessed items.

All of these methods allow non-local vendors to compete, they just make it more likely that a local vendor will be responsive, responsible, and the lowest price.

Good Procurement Principles

Free and Open Competition

Fairness and Integrity

Responsive and Responsible Contractors

Transparency

Acceptable Farm to School Procurements

Seasonal produce bids

Harvest of the Month bids

FFVP bids

Food for taste testing bids

Food for a Harvest meal bids

Need to document why these bids were split out from your

produce/broad-line

distributor.

Even if these fall under the $3,000 micro purchase threshold, you still need to document purchase.

Procuring Local Foods: Don’ts

If you want to purchase local products you CANNOT:

Specify “Local” or “Locally Grown” as a product requirement.

Specify that product must be grown or produced in a certain geographic area (other than in the US!)

Specify that only locally based or locally owned vendors can apply.

All of these methods reduce competition, and prohibit non-local vendors and products from competing for your business.

Limiting competition

Example:

Carrots, any color

200 pounds per week for October, to be delivered each Monday (4 weeks, 800 pounds total)

Washed, clean and intact

Greens removed

25 pound container limit

Bid must be Price Per Pound

Farm must be within 2 miles of SAU office: 1 Main Street, Somewhere NH

Writing the Specification to Encourage Free and Open Competition

Better Example:

Carrots, any color

200 pounds per week for October, to be delivered each Monday (4 weeks, 800 pounds total)

Washed, clean and intact

Greens removed

25 pound container limit, although other weight limits may be considered

Bid must be Price Per Pound

Preference of $.01 per pound will be given to farms that are within 10 miles of

: 1 Main Street, Somewhere NH

Ties will be broken based on closest proximity to SAU office

.

$.01 per Pound Preference to any farm within 10 miles of SAU office

ABC Farm wins the contract because they offered the lowest evaluated price

Carrots

ABC Farm

(3 miles away)

XYZ Farm

(1.5 miles away)

Alphabet Farm

(11 miles away)

Price Per Pound

$.53

$.54

$.53

Met Geographic

Preference

Yes

Yes

No

Price with Preference Points

$.52

$.53

$.53

How about adding…

$.01 per Pound preference points will be awarded to any farm that will allow two farm tours for the third grade classes.

$.02 per Pound preference points will be awarded to any farm that is willing to participate in the school’s Meet Your Farmer event, held on September 29

What will the evaluation look like now?

1. $.01 per Pound Preference to

any farm within 10 miles of SAU Office

2. $.01 per Pound Preference to any farm providing tours

3. $.02 per Pound Preference to any farm attending school event

XYZ Farm wins the contract because they offered the lowest evaluated price and were

within closest proximity

.

Carrots

ABC Farm

(3 miles

away)

XYZ Farm

(1.5 miles away)

Alphabet Farm

(11

miles away)

Price Per Pound

$.53

$.54

$.53

Met Geographic Preference

Yes

Yes

No

Farm Tours

Yes

Yes

Yes

School Event

No

Yes

Yes

Price with PP #1

$.52

$.53

$.53

Price with PP #2

$.51

$.52

$.52

Price with PP #3

$.51

$.50

$.50

Do I always have to go with the lowest price?

You

have to go with the

vendor,

who is both

Responsive

and

Responsible,

that submitted the lowest evaluated bid.

Forward Contracts

A contract or agreement established with a farmer in advance of the growing season.

The contract should include:

Item information

Payment details

Quality standards

Delivery and shipment

Handling requirements

Cancellations and changes

Benefits

Help ensure future supply of local foods for districts

Help ensure future market for farm products

Be sure to include flexibility if circumstances change

Risks

Supply issues

Changing needs and circumstances

Need to determine:

What vegetables are needed, in what quantities and the delivery schedule to school(s)

What can NH farmers grow that will be available during school months

Will more than one farmer be needed to meet the school requirement

Will the farmer be protected from contract obligations due to crop loss or failure

Remember:

Forward Contracts must still be competitively procured, using either the formal or informal procurement method.

If someone else is establishing the forward contract on behalf of the district, like a distributor or FSMC, the contract must still be competitively procured.

Resources

Produce Safety University

http://www.fns.usda.gov/food-safety/produce-safety-university

Farm to School

http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/farm-school

American Marketing Services

http://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards

Contacts

State of NH, UNH

Stacey Purslow,

Stacey.Purslow@unh.edu

State of NH, Department of Education, Bureau of Nutrition Programs and Services

Cheri White, 271-3860,

Cheri.white@doe.nh.gov

Kathryn Hodges, 271-3861,

Kathryn.hodges@doe.nh.gov