5-Appendix 4 - Austin ISD Good Food Purchasing Resolution.pdf

© 2016 Center for Good Food Purchasing

GOOD FOOD PURCHASING RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Austin ISD procures over $13 million annually in food and serves over 72,000 meals per day and over 12 million meals annually.

WHEREAS, the purchasing of good food is a vital component to providing for the nutritional needs of all children in Austin ISD, where more than 57% of students in Austin ISD qualify for federal and state meal benefits through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the After School Snack and Supper Program, and the Summer Food Service Program.

WHEREAS, in practicing good food procurement methods, Austin ISD can support a regional food system that is ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially responsible. Thoughtful purchasing practices by Austin ISD can nationally impact the creation and availability of a local, equitable, and sustainable good food system;

WHEREAS, Austin ISD has made continued improvements to school menus to increase fresh and local foods, increase produce and decrease processed foods served to students. Austin ISD has expanded the farm to school program to all 130 campuses, participates in the Texas Department of Agriculture’s farm fresh Fridays and spends 47% of its food budget in the state of Texas. Austin ISD has made changes to the menu to include sustainably sourced foods, such as organic cereal and chicken raised without antibiotics from suppliers providing a valued workforce.

WHEREAS, Good food is defined as food that is healthy, affordable, fair, and sustainable. These foods meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, provide freedom from chronic ailment, and are delicious and safe. All participants in the food supply chain receive fair compensation, fair treatment, and are free of exploitation. Good food is available to purchase for all income levels. High quality food is equitable and physically and culturally accessible to all. Food is produced, processed, distributed, and recycled locally using the principles of environmental stewardship (in terms of water, soil, and pesticide management); and

WHEREAS, Implementation of the comprehensive Good Food

Purchasing Program will promote the ongoing leadership of Austin ISD in being a good food leader in our community and nationwide; now, therefore, be it, RESOLVED, That Austin ISD will use its purchasing power to encourage the production and consumption of food that is healthy, affordable, fair, and sustainable. We recognize that the adoption of the Good Food Purchasing Program has the power to reform the food system, create opportunities for smaller farmers and low-income entrepreneurs of color to thrive, provide just compensation and fair treatment for workers, support sustainable farming practices, reward good environmental stewardship, and increase access to fresh and healthy foods. We will leverage our purchasing power to support the following values:

Local Economies: support small and mid-sized agricultural and food processing operations within the local area or region.

Environmental Sustainability: source from producers that employ sustainable production systems that reduce or eliminate synthetic pesticides and fertilizers; avoid the use of hormones, antibiotics, and genetic engineering; conserve soil and water; protect and enhance wildlife habitat and biodiversity; and reduce on-farm energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Valued Workforce: provide safe and healthy working conditions and fair compensation to all food chain workers and producers, from production to consumption.

Animal Welfare: source from producers who provide healthy and humane care for farm animals.

Nutrition: promote health and well-being by offering generous portions of vegetables, fruit, and whole grains; reducing salt, added sugars, fats, and oils; and by eliminating artificial additives.

RESOLVED, that Austin ISD commits to taking the following steps in support of Good Food:

(1) Meet identified multi-year benchmarks at the baseline standard or higher for each of the five value categories – local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition, as specified in the Good Food Purchasing Standards and annually increase the procurement of Good Food.

(2) Establish supply chain accountability and a traceability system with suppliers to verify sourcing commitments.

(3) Incorporate the Good Food Purchasing Standards and reporting requirements into all new RFPs and contracts.

(4) Participate in the Good Food Purchasing Program™, administered by the Center for Good Food Purchasing, at the four star level, and comply with due diligence reporting requirements to verify compliance, measure progress, and celebrate success.

RESOLVED, that Austin ISD commits to the following reporting requirements:

(1) Maintain the Food Service Operations Overview form detailing the total annual dollar amount of food purchases by food category (including beverages)

(2) Maintain the Baseline Nutrition Assessment

(3) Maintain Contractor Code of Conduct agreements signed by vendors, verifying that vendors and all subcontractors and suppliers comply with domestic labor law (including state and local) in countries where they produce goods and services, as well as the core International Labour Organization (ILO) standards.

1. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.

2. Elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor.

3. Abolition of child labor.

4. Elimination of discrimination with respect to employment or occupation.

(4) Submit records annually of each fruit, vegetable, meat/poultry, dairy and grain products purchased, to include:

a. Product name; and

b. Volume purchased; and

c. The name and location of each supplier along the supply chain, to include all distributors, wholesalers, processors, manufacturers, shippers, AND farm(s) of origin; and

d. With the assistance of the Good Food Purchasing Partners, if/how a Good Food supplier fulfills and verifies identified Good Food goals, including local, environmentally sustainable, fair, animal welfare and healthy; and

e. Amount spent by institution for each product, to include:

i. Price per volume; and

ii. For each individual farm or ranch from which product is sourced, total dollar value spent on each individual product from that farm or ranch;

and total dollar value spent for all food items.

(5) Develop and adopt a multi-year action plan with benchmarks to comply with the Good Food Purchasing Standards

(6) Report annually on implementation progress of the Good Food Purchasing Standards.