For school lunches, buy American
The undersigned organizations write in strong support of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act’s Buy American provision and encourage strengthening enforcement of this important requirement. This provision greatly benefits the American agricultural economy and ensures the quality of the food our nation’s children are receiving in school.
Under Section 104(d) of the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 1998, schools and institutions that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program are required to purchase domestically grown and processed foods to the maximum extent practicable. To be considered a domestic product the food must be produced and processed in the U.S. with over 51 percent of the final processed product consisting of domestic agricultural commodities. This provision applies to all funds in the food service account and is not limited to federal reimbursements.
Our organizations are deeply concerned that the Buy America Act requirements of the National School Lunch Act are not being adequately monitored and enforced. Our concerns were amplified with the Sacramento City Unified School District’s recent acknowledgement that they have been purchasing canned peaches, pears and applesauce from China. Since there is currently no transparency regarding school purchases of imported products, we must assume there are other districts throughout the country purchasing imported food products.
Given the importance of the Buy American provision, we would like to see the enforcement of this requirement become a priority for USDA. We encourage USDA to consider monitoring the procurement specifications and contractor performance. This increased accountability and enforcement will enhance compliance with the Buy American provision and ensure scenarios like the recent one in the Sacramento City Unified School District do not continue to occur.
We appreciate the department’s consideration and look forward to working with you on this pressing issue.
These comments are the text of a letter sent by 50 agricultural trade associations, farmer co-ops and agribusinesses to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. They sent the letter early this month, after the Sacramento Bee reported the Sacramento City Unified School District had spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on imported Chinese canned fruit. The letter and list of participating organizations is online at http://ncfc.org/letter/enforcement-of-buy-american-provision/.
For school lunches, buy American:
