The purpose of this memorandum is to address recent inquiries on the application of the geographic preference option in the procurement of unprocessed locally grown or raised agricultural products.
Following the Jan. 26, 2012, issuance of the final rule titled Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, several questions have been raised regarding its effect on current contracts between school food authorities and food service management companies.
In this policy memorandum, we clarify that the SFA may, in some cases, include bids for procurement of end products in its solicitation for procurement of commercial food products from commercial distributors, rather than conduct two separate solicitations.
In response to several requests and to assist state agencies and school food authorities in their compliance efforts, we are providing the following prototype contract language requiring the return of purchase incentives to SFAs.
This memorandum is intended to provide clarification of what is allowable, for contracts executed both prior to and after publication of the final rule.
The purpose of this memorandum is to highlight the key provisions of the final rule and emphasize the responsibilities state agencies have in ensuring compliance with these provisions and with contract enforcement and oversight.