8-Attachment H - Good Food Purchasing Bidding Vendor Pledge.pdf

This is a bidding vendor pledge attachment for the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Food Service's Request for Proposals to supply fresh produce and a la carte beverages. The AISD is seeking qualified vendors experienced in sourcing, purchasing, storing, and delivering fresh fruits, vegetables, and beverages to district food service locations on an ongoing basis. Prospective vendors must possess adequate physical, logistical, and financial resources to serve as commercial distributors rather than third-party logistics companies that subcontract out primary services. The district emphasizes its participation in the Good Food Purchasing Program, which aims to improve child nutrition, reduce food transportation distances, ensure labor law compliance, support environmentally sustainable food production practices, and promote humane animal treatment standards.

Any vendor submitting a bid or proposal must commit to supporting the Good Food Purchasing Program through specific actions, including communicating program participation to all farmers, food suppliers, manufacturers, and subcontractors; establishing supply chain accountability and traceability systems to verify sourcing commitments; complying with due diligence reporting requirements to assess baseline purchases and measure annual progress; completing baseline purchasing assessments for analysis by the Center for Good Food Purchasing; annually increasing procurement of food aligned with program core values; and seeking innovative products demonstrating progress toward program objectives. The pledge requires execution by an authorized representative of the bidding company, with designated spaces for the company name, representative name and title, signature, and date.