Good Food Purchasing Program At Boston Public Schools
The Boston Public School system is one of the largest daily food providers in the city. It has a tremendous opportunity to ensure the food provided to students is healthy, locally sourced, and reflects equity and justice along the entire food supply chain.
Food and Nutrition Services at Boston Public Schools (BPS) offers meals at 119 school locations and serves about 50,000 breakfasts and lunches each school day. Meals are prepared on site at about 80% of school locations. Vended (pre-plated) meals are offered at about 20% of school locations. Schools are in a position to write contracts, create incentives, and develop market opportunities to best serve students.
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Still have questions? Contact:
Food Justice
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1 City Hall Square
Room 804Boston, MA 02201
Baseline Assessment: Background
In 2022, the Center for Good Food Purchasing (CGFP) analyzed data on BPS food purchases from the 2019-2020 school year as the first step in implementation of Boston's Good Food Purchasing Standards Ordinance. This baseline assessment was finalized and shared publicly in 2023. The baseline guides planning for future purchases that qualify as good food.
BPS made great efforts to ensure vendors provided as much data as possible. However, the accuracy of the assessment is diminished by the large amount of missing data. This is common amongst many cities' initial assessments. Part of working on Good Food Purchasing is working with vendors to make sure they supply data.
Baseline Assessment: Documents
- This companion document helps explain how the CGFP determined the scores.
- FAQs about the assessment and BPS's score
- If you wish to read the full assessment technical document, you can find it here.
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Still have questions? Contact:
Food Justice
-
1 City Hall Square
Room 804Boston, MA 02201
