The Center for Good Food Purchasing has awarded its first five-star ranking, to the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colo., for its food procurement practices.
The center’s Good Food Purchasing Program scores institutions using a 25-point system based on the program’s five core purchasing values: local economies, nutrition, valued workforce, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. BVSD earned two bonus points for value chain equity and innovation, bringing its total points earned to 27, the most of any institution reviewed by the program.
BVSD put over 41% of its total food spend ($890,700) back into Colorado’s economy, and almost 10% of those purchases came from local farms within 200 miles of the district, according to a release.
"This award is to be shared with all school food and nutrition professionals. It is proof positive that a school district can actually influence a local or regional food economy," said Ann Cooper, director of food services for BVSD, in a statement. "I want our record high score to catalyze school districts everywhere to now believe they can be at the vanguard of not just school food improvement, but overall societal change.”
The Good Food Purchasing Program is an initiative that promotes the procurement of local, transparent food. The program began in 2012.