Dig into what kind of goals you have, what kind of support you have, how flexible your procurement is, among other pertinent gauges of what policy would be right for you. Does it make sense to push for a city policy if your school board is already in support? If your procurement code is dictated by the county, a county policy or resolution may be a better play. That said, we know you’re busy! So once you’ve identified that a policy could help, let us help connect you with policymakers and organized stakeholder groups to put supportive policies in place.

Crowdsource ideas for local food producers to partner with. This is a fantastic way to find vendors that may struggle to access institutional markets or are looking to expand their product lines. Start with one, then look to grow these efforts over time.

What do institutions that get great data, set smart goals, and see Good Food progress each year all have in common? Regular touch-bases with their vendors. This can take many shapes and forms, but if you’re not already doing it, consider adding a quarterly or bi-annual vendor review to the calendar. Stay in touch with your sales representatives, ask that they stop by to visit you on a semi-regular basis. Have them eat in your cafeteria and learn about your staff and operation. Strong vendor relationships pay dividends well beyond GFPP.

This technique is utilized by some of GFPP’s highest performers. In short: if you identify an ingredient or meal that is values-aligned but at a higher cost, balance the budget the following day with lower cost offerings. Instead of looking at per day or per meal costs, look at weekly costs, averaged across the days. This is a great approach to ease into Good Food without blowing the budget.

Storytelling attached to offerings, depending on your audience, can set the stage for eaters to better understand both the true cost of food, as well as the inherent value in making Good Food choices. Effective marketing can drive sales and participation, setting your operation up to continue making the cost of Good Food work for you.

Request purchasing reports on a regular basis, not just when it’s time for an assessment. This helps monitor progress in initiatives to make timely adjustments in purchasing. This is also a best practice for keeping vendors honest and attuned to your reporting requirements.

There’s a good chance there are folks working in your area that would love to help your institution develop new purchasing relationships with small to medium-scale, diverse food producers and growers. Think food policy councils and local agriculture groups. If that’s not an option, let us know – we’ll look at the state level or even national for support.

When planning offerings to reflect the cultures, holidays, or preferences of your eaters, consider buying needed specialty products from local producers. Use these one-off purchases to establish relationships and think about opportunities to increase purchasing in support of these businesses in the years to come.

With each menu revision, challenge your team to check a few more items off the CHN Checklist (above) or knock a few ultra-processed items off your menu. Get creative when including more whole foods, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Small steps become giant leaps over time. Do not forget to (or let us help) track your efforts. Bringing your community and leaders along for the ride will serve to further accelerate the work.

While most kitchens have systems in place for production records and forecasting menu needs, making sure these systems are used to their full waste prevention potential is imperative. Ensure that all staff are trained on their use, monitored for compliance and recognized for diligence in adhering to standard procedures.

Setting goals for reduction with your team can be an effective way to generate staff-driven initiatives, ideas and increased effort. Make sure to keep staff informed on progress, solicit feedback regularly, and most importantly – celebrate wins, even the small ones! This, and each best practice above all reinforce each other to create an operation that is unified against waste.

The surefire quickest way is to review your menu for opportunities to reduce offerings that include beef and dairy products. Even just a few menu switches, repeated over the course of weekly cycles can pay huge carbon footprint reduction dividends. Get creative with your culinary team. Look to other cultures that feature more plant rich recipes and traditions. Put spins on old classics. Have fun with it and ask for support.