Purchase local food targeting purchases from small businesses and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, for distribution to schools

The utah state board of education will use cooperative agreement funds to support utah�s small ranchers and provide school food service programs access to beef and bison products. Utah state board of education will procure competitive contracts with local meat producers and processors. Cooperative agreement funds will then be sub-awarded to school food service programs. Schools will work directly with contracted vendors to arrange ordering and delivery and will invoice utah state board of education for reimbursement, up to the total amount of their award. This project will allow utah meat producers the opportunity to explore new market channels and build relationships with new buyers, while helping schools improve meal quality with healthy, locally produced protein. Cooperative agreement funds will be used to purchase beef and bison products from regional producers, specifically ground raw meat and jerky and meat sticks. For this project, the utah state board of education will conduct the competitive procurement, targeting socially disadvantaged and small farmers, and manage the contracts. School food authorities will simply need to place orders directly with the contracted vendors. This removes the procurement barrier to participation, while still allowing food service programs to control the quantity and timing of products delivered to their schools. Quarterly performance reports will be submitted to capture the number of producers, small businesses and socially disadvantaged farmers and producers, dollar value of purchases, and type of food purchased. Annual reports will provide percentages of new marketing opportunities established by purchasing from local and regional farmers and producers, socially disadvantaged farmers and producers, and small businesses. The local food for schools cooperative agreement project will be a win for utah ranchers, meat processors, and schools. The recipient plans to subaward funds to school food authorities.