In a determined effort to steer away from the corporate grip on institutional procurement markets, two alliances, Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA) and HEAL Food Alliance, have developed a path forward. Their report titled, “Procuring Food Justice: Grassroots Solutions for Reclaiming Our Public Supply Chains,” puts forth the critical need for a shift towards a values based food purchasing framework.

The duo’s objective is to implement said strategy through an initiative known as the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP). The GFPP works to reform the approach public institutions use to acquire food, promoting a food system that is transparent, fairly scored, and based on ethical values. Assisted by the Center for Good Food Purchasing’s expansive toolkit and expert technical backing, these institutions can smoothly achieve their goals.

Jose Oliva, Campaigns Director at HEAL Food Alliance, underlines the dire necessity for the GFPP. “Without the GFPP, countless institutions would have remained oblivious to the concept of value based procurement,” he shares.

The report underpins the potential of programs like GFPP to persuade institutions to back away from suppliers that propagate an unsustainable and inequitable model of food production. Their ultimate mission is to energize procurement practices that provide support to suppliers who are championing racial equality, fair treatment of workers, climate justice, and transparency.

Oliva, a key contributor to the research and creation of the report, indicates that the project, spanning over a decade, was aimed at measuring the impact of GFPP. “We were largely in the dark about what we were achieving,” admits Oliva. “Although we were sure of altering the food system in these sizable institutions, we lacked exact details.”

Between 2022 to the spring of 2023, researchers also conducted three case studies across divergent U.S regions. These studies provided insight into the unique challenges hindering small scale, minority owned producers and distributor access to procurement markets.

One such case study spotlighted the farmer owned Agri Cultura Cooperative Network (ACN). ACN conglomerates produce from New Mexico farmers to cater to low income communities in South Valley, Albuquerque. The cooperative has been active in encouraging procurement practices in local school lunch initiatives.

Local communities felt the ripple effect of natural calamities affecting California’s Central Valley due to their dependency on this region’s industrial food production. This led ACN to develop an efficient farm-to-market system for distribution. “Our community is partaking collectively in altering attitudes towards community health, wealth, and wellbeing,” states ACN’s Executive Director, Helga Garcia-Garza.

The report applauds GFPP’s accomplishments over the last ten years, from successful policy adoptions to union contracts, and prioritizing community sentiments in contracting. But it emphasizes that Good Food Purchasing standards still represent a minimal percentage of total procurement. Looking into the future, the authors advocate for better accountability, enforcement, racial equity, and transparency.

Oliva concludes, “GFPP’s existence has been instrumental in unlocking numerous opportunities at these institutions, and transparency is a paramount one. We can foresee our efforts over the forthcoming decade intensely concentrated on promoting transparency.”