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Procurement for School Nutrition Programs

Geographic Preference

The geographic preference option applies to purchases of local unprocessed agriculture product purchases for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs), including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP),  Afterschool Snack Program (ASP) of the NSLP, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), Special Milk Program (SMP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) of the NSLP. The USDA encourages schools and institutions to purchase unprocessed, locally grown, and locally raised agricultural products to the maximum extent practicable and appropriate, and allows geographic preference in procuring eligible products (refer to "Eligible Products" below). 

The USDA does not define local foods for the CNPs. CNP operators may determine the specific local area associated with the geographic preference option for unprocessed agricultural products when buying food. 

Background

The April 2011 final rule, Geographic Preference Option for the Procurement of Unprocessed Agricultural Products in Child Nutrition Programs, clarified the implementation of the geographic preference option for CNP operators. The April 2024 final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, expands the geographic preference option, Beginning July 1, 2024, CNP operators may choose to:

  • use local as a specification (i.e., the written description of a product or service that a vendor must meet to be considered responsive to a solicitation) for local unprocessed agricultural products;
  • use a defined scoring advantage (e.g., additional credit or points given to local unprocessed agricultural products during the evaluation of responses to a solicitation) for local unprocessed agricultural products;
  • adopt a mix of both strategies; or,
  • elect not to use any of these approaches

For detailed guidance, refer to USDA Memo SP 22-2024, CACFP 08-2024, and SFSP 13-2024: Geographic Preference Expansion Related to the Final Rule titled, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Eligible Products

  • Unprocessed locally grown, raised, or caught agricultural products. Only agricultural products that retain their inherent character are eligible for applying the optional geographic preference.
  • Unprocessed locally grown, raised, or caught agricultural products with minimal processing, food handling, and preservation techniques. Food handling and preservation techniques that do not change the inherent character of an agricultural product include cooling; refrigerating; freezing; size adjustment made by peeling, slicing, dicing, cutting, chopping, shucking, and grinding; drying/dehydration; washing; applying high water pressure or “cold pasteurization”; packaging (such as placing eggs in cartons), vacuum packing and bagging (such as placing vegetables in bags); butchering livestock and poultry; cleaning fish; and pasteurizing of milk.

Guidance

Geographic Preference Regulations