Farm To School Produce

Corona-Norco Unified School District is requesting proposals for locally grown fresh produce and related services for its Child Nutrition Services Department, with proposals due September 11, 2026. The sourcing requirement—produce grown and harvested within 150 miles of the District's Child Nutrition Services Warehouse in Riverside County, California—is a decision-flipping constraint that narrows the vendor pool to regional agricultural producers.

The District explicitly prioritizes sourcing from local farms (including small and mid-scale operations), socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and women and disabled veteran-owned farm operations. This preference structure signals opportunity for underrepresented agricultural producers but does not establish a formal set-aside percentage or certification requirement; the extent to which these preferences are weighted in evaluation is not stated in the source.

The scope encompasses fresh, seasonal produce meeting District specifications for freshness and nutritional quality. No contract value, contract term, incumbent vendor, evaluation criteria weighting, question deadline, or pre-proposal meeting date is identified in the source material. The District's stated objectives—improving produce freshness and nutritional quality, reducing food miles, and strengthening the regional farm economy—indicate that sourcing proximity and farm-operation type will influence award decisions, though formal scoring methodology is not disclosed.