HISTORY

The Center for Good Food Purchasing was created in 2015 as a home for the Good Food Purchasing Program. The Program was developed by the Los Angeles Food Policy Council (LAFPC) and adopted in Los Angeles institutions beginning in 2012. The Center for Good Food Purchasing works with local grassroots coalitions, national organizations, government administrators, food service operators, and elected officials in cities, counties, and regions across the country to scale the reach and impact of the Good Food Purchasing Program.

The model was developed by a multi-stakeholder working group with expertise in labor, nutrition, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, agriculture, processing, distribution and institutional food procurement. Nearly 100 national, state, and local food system experts provided recommendations and feedback on the policy, which was developed as a framework for institutions of all types and sizes and across locations.

MILESTONES

2011-2012

  • Los Angeles Food Policy Council Procurement working group develops the Good Food Purchasing Guidelines for Food Service Institutions.

2012

  • The City of LA (October) and LA Unified School District (November) adopt the Good Food Purchasing Program, committing to implementing the Good Food Purchasing Guidelines. These commitments impact approximately 750,000 meals a day.

2015

  • In response to interest from cities and institutions across the country for replicating the Good Food Purchasing model elsewhere, the Good Food Purchasing Program is spun off from the Los Angeles Food Policy Council and the Center for Good Food Purchasing is created to house the national initiative in July 2015.
  • Grassroots coalitions and/or government entities actively establish the Good Food Purchasing Program as a priority in Austin, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Oakland, Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul), and San Francisco.

2016

  • San Francisco Unified (May) and Oakland Unified (November) School Districts adopt Good Food Purchasing resolutions via unanimous vote by their respective School Boards.

2017

  • Chicago Public Schools adopts the Good Food Purchasing Program (June), followed by Chicago Park District (September) and a resolution adopted by the City of Chicago (October).

  • Local coalitions actively establish the Good Food Purchasing Program as a priority in Washington, DC and Buffalo, NY.

2018

  • Boulder Valley School District’s School Food Project is awarded our first-ever five star Good Food Provider rating following a baseline assessment of its institutional procurement practices in February.
  • Cook County, Illinois Board of Commissioners adopts the Good Food Purchasing Program via unanimous vote by commissioners in May.
  • The Good Food Purchasing Program is honored with a Future Policy Award Honorable Mention from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Future Council, and IFOAM Organics International in Rome during World Food Week in October.
  • Local coalition actively establishes the Good Food Purchasing Program as a priority in San Diego.

2019

  • District of Columbia Public Schools adopts the Good Food Purchasing Program as part of the Healthy Students Amendment Act.
  • Cincinnati Public Schools adopts the Good Food Purchasing Program.
  • Austin Independent School District adopts the Good Food Purchasing Program.
  • City of Boston adopts the Good Food Purchasing Program via City Ordinance (Councillor Wu) which includes Boston Public Schools.
  • The Center for Good Food Purchasing hosts the first ever Power of Procurement Summit in Chicago, IL.

2020

  • Launch of “The Good Food Purchasing Program: Toward a Good Food Future,” a multimedia impact report featuring the history, vision, and achievements of the first eight years of the Program.
  • City and County of San Francisco adopts a Good Food Purchasing Ordinance with targets for hospitals and jails in each Good Food Value.
  • Escondido Union School District (San Diego) adopts a Good Food Purchasing resolution.
  • Alachua County and the City of Gainesville adopt resolutions committing to the Good Food Purchasing Program.

2021

  • Pittsburgh Public Schools adopts a Good Food Purchasing resolution.
  • The Center publishes “The Good Food Purchasing Program: A Roadmap for the Post-Pandemic Food System We Need” to share a vision for what is possible over the next ten years if we act boldly, together, with our values and imagination as our guide.
  • The City of New York’s Mayor’s Office of Food Policy releases their first-ever Citywide Goals & Strategy for the Implementation of Good Food Purchasing, outlining their commitment to Good Food Purchasing, their plan for increasing their targets in the five value categories, assessments and action plans detailing their performance to date, along with agency level raw purchasing data. 
  • The Center launches  the Good Food Impact Hub with the support from the Rockefeller Foundation, an online policy tool that provides policymakers, advocates and communities with a suite of tools to calculate and articulate the positive impacts of adopting sustainable and equity changes to local purchasing practices.
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2022

  • City of New York includes a commitment to the Good Food Purchasing Program in Mayoral Executive Order 8.
  • City and County of Denver adopts a Mayoral Executive Order committing to the Good Food Purchasing Program.
  • Los Angeles Unified School District celebrates 10 years in the Program.
  • Anchors in Action publishes the Anchors in Action Framework, representing alignment among the Center, Real Food Challenge, and Health Care Without Harm for work across institutional food service sectors.

2023

  • Partners Food Chain Workers Alliance and HEAL Food Alliance publish Procuring Food Justice, reflecting lessons learned and policy recommendations from 10+ years of organizing around the Good Food Purchasing Program.
  • Good Food Purchasing Standards v3.0 is published, including review and input from over 300 individuals and organizations.

2024

  • The New York State legislature passes the Good Food NY Bill, with advocacy and support from over 70 farmer associations and community groups.

TO DATE

  • We are working with over 70 enrolled institutions and 13 local coalitions—representing hundreds of organizations—in 27 cities and counties across the country. Together, these institutions spend over $1.1 billion on food each year.