Legislation – ILSNA Position Statement

Local Food to School

Opening Statement
ILSNA is a professional organization whose members work in school nutrition programs, and or provide goods or services to those programs. ILSNA members desire to serve locally produced agricultural products in their child nutrition programs. We believe that the following information will help to facilitate increased purchases of local food by our members.

  1. ILSNA defines Local Food as food produced in Illinois or any of the contiguous states (Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana) and Michigan. An individual local school board may decide to define local in an alternate way so long as it does not restrict fair and open competition.

  2. ILSNA recommends that whenever possible schools should be encouraged to purchase local agricultural products. The Local Food, Farm and Jobs Act (Public Act 096-0579) encourages schools to purchase 10% of their food and food products from local Illinois sources. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=096-0579

  3. Schools want to purchase locally produced agricultural products through established distribution channels.

  4. Distribution channels need to provide schools with information identifying where locally produced agricultural products were sourced.

  5. Schools nutrition programs work with very tight budgets, and therefore must purchase locally produced agricultural products at competitive prices.

  6. Schools desire to purchase locally grown produce that has been cleaned and minimally processed so that a minimum amount of labor is required at the school site before serving. (Examples -- cut lettuce, apple slices, and carrot sticks)

  7. Fruits and vegetables that have been traditionally packed by size and/ or count need to be packed in same manner if locally grown. School nutrition programs offer meals with specific serving sizes in order to meet federal meal pattern regulations. We need to be able to purchase a 113 ct apple for example to serve to all students. Random sizes within a case are not acceptable.

  8. Schools nutrition programs serve an at-risk population, children, and are responsible for the safety of the food that is served. Therefore all of the locally produced agricultural products must meet the safety standards set forth by the local health departments.

    Additional guidance on food sanitation and safety issues specific to local foods may be found on line at:

    Guidance for Industry: Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Fruits and Vegetables
    http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/produce
    andplanproducts/ucm064458.htm

    USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Grading, Certification and Verification -- Fresh Produce Audit Verification Program
    http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateN&page=GAP
    GHPAuditVerificationProgram

  9. Schools participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs must abide by the procurement regulations set forth by USDA and the State of Illinois. All procurement transactions must be conducted in a manner that provides maximum open and free competition.

    Participating schools, both public and non-public schools, may be subject to varying federal, state and local requirements. Detailed information regarding these procurement requirements may be found on the Illinois State Board of Education's Nutrition Programs Division website. http://www.isbe.net/nutrition/htmls/contract_other.htm.

April 2011