Good Food Purchasing Standards 2.0 – September 2017 Update

The Standards Update process began in March 2016 and concluded in July 2017. Key steps included:

• Convened Value Category Expert Subcommittees (Spring-Summer 2016)
• Developed a Straw Proposal of Good Food Purchasing Standards 2.0 (Fall 2016)
• Center for Good Food Purchasing Governance Board Review (October 2016)
• Subcommittee & Additional Expert Reviewers (November 2016 – December 2016)
• Local & Institutional Partner Review (December 2016 – March 2017)
• Subcommittee Review and Updates (March 2017 – May 2017)
• Tested Recommended Updates (May 2017)
• Final Governance Board Review and Approval (June-July 2017)
• Release of Good Food Purchasing Standards 2.0 (September 2017)

The Standards retain their overall structure, featuring five value categories and tiered rankings for certifications or attributes that define the value at each level. However, three key scoring changes were made:

EXPANDING INCENTIVES FOR SOURCING LEVEL 3 PRODUCTS:

• In the Local Economies, Environmental Sustainability, and Animal Welfare categories, institutions now receive one point for each five percent of product that meets Level Three criteria (rather than three points for each 15 percent of product that meets Level Three criteria).This change was made because for each of these categories, it was uncommon for institutions to earn points at Level Three with a 15 percent threshold, so many institutions continued to source additional product from Level One suppliers rather than shift some purchases toward Level Three suppliers. This update creates greater incentive for purchasing from Level Three farms.

CREATING ADDITIONAL PATHWAYS TO MEET THE BASELINE IN CHALLENGING CATEGORIES:

• In the Environmental Sustainability and Animal Welfare categories, the Center added alternative options for meeting the baseline requirements. Within the Environmental Sustainability category, we introduced a carbon and water footprint reduction for animal products and food waste reduction as an option, and within the Animal Welfare category, we introduced a meat reduction target (with plant-based protein as replacement) as an option for meeting animal welfare goals.

  These alternative options encourage a cost-neutral, best practice in the field of values-based food procurement, in which institutions reduce the amount of meat they purchase and redirect savings toward sustainable and humane products. This change permits both pathways as options for achieving the baseline requirement.

RE-INFUSING VALUE CHAIN EQUITY & INNOVATION INTO EACH OF THE VALUE CATEGORIES:

• The initial release of the 2012 Good Food Purchasing Guidelines for Food Service Institutions included criteria throughout many of the five value categories related to health and economic equity. In 2015, we incorporated a sixth, bonus point only category for Value Chain Equity & Innovation to emphasize these criteria more explicitly.For the updated Good Food Purchasing Standards 2.0, the Center opted to return to the original format to reinforce that equity goals are inextricably linked across all of the value categories. To this end, equity criteria are distributed throughout each of the categories, particularly within Local Economies (e.g. creating economic opportunities for producers and entrepreneurs of color, women, and veterans); Valued Workforce (e.g. union or non-poverty wages, worker-owned cooperatives, etc.); and Nutrition (e.g. implementation of initiatives that expand access to good food for low income residents and/or communities of color).

Most changes within each of the individual value categories relate to 1) the certifications or attributes that define each of the values (e.g. adding/removing certifications or moving them to another level); 2) creating better alignment across value categories or with other food procurement initiatives; or 3) creating pathways for participating institutions to meet the baseline standard in value categories that have proven to be challenging for most institutions to meet under the existing definitions. The following is a brief overview of notable updates in each of the value categories:

LOCAL ECONOMIES

• Aligned definitions with USDA’s definitions for farm size and ownership structure: The standards now specify that a farm should be family-owned to qualify as local, and refer to revenue rather than acreage to determine size.
• Created greater focus on mid-sized farms: Institutions are still encouraged and rewarded for purchasing from small farms when possible, however there is an increased focus on creating more opportunity for mid-sized farms, which are often better positioned to provide institutions with the volume needed.
• Extended local radius from 200 to 250 miles: 250 miles is a commonly used radius for local across the country and by other procurement initiatives.
• Adjusted scoring so that each five percent increment of Level Three product receives one point.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

• Included an addition of a carbon and water footprint reduction for animal products and food waste reduction as an alternative option.
• Set a baseline standard for third-party verified animal products produced without routine antibiotics.
• Adjusted scoring so that each five percent increment of Level Three product receives one point.
• Harmonized animal welfare and environmental meat reduction targets and antibiotic usage definitions.

VALUED WORKFORCE

• Developed an expanded list of criteria for evaluating voluntary third-party certifications at Level Three. (for criteria, see footnote 34 of the Good Food Purchasing Standards 2.0).
• Included disqualifier for slave labor, child labor or pattern of willful, serious, repeated violations over three years.
• Included labor peace agreement as a bonus point.
• Included option for worker education/training program on Good Food Purchasing Program at Level One.
• Included a modified weighting system, which differently weights credit for Level Three along the supply chain, consistent with product availability (i.e. greater credit for product from Level Three farms than for Level Three processors/distributors).

ANIMAL WELFARE

• Addition of a meat reduction target (with plant-based protein as replacement) as an option for meeting animal welfare goals
• Included only certifications with third party verification (i.e. no “label claims”).
• Adjusted scoring so that each five percent increment of Level Three product receives one point.
• Harmonized animal welfare and environmental meat reduction targets and antibiotic usage definitions.

NUTRITION

• Prioritized subset of checklist items based on recommendations for high impact practices from subcommittee members.
• Created new checklist items that focused on prioritizing the purchase of whole or minimally processed foods, rather than moderately or ultra-processed products, and encouraged the reduction of purchases of red and processed meats.