DEFINITIONS A school food authority (SFA) is a governing body that is responsible for the administration of and has the legal authority to operate Child Nutrition Programs in one or more schools, in accordance with federal regulations. 1 Throughout this report, 'SFA' is used interchangeably with 'School District.' In this report, we also use SFA to encompass individuals directly responsible for or involved in the day-to-day operations of Child Nutrition Programs, such as school nutrition directors and school business officials. “Vendors” is used throughout this report as the term to describe any firm or organization that an SFA contracts with as part of the delivery of Child Nutrition Programs and related services, including suppliers, distributors, processors, producers, and farmers. I. Introduction & Study Background School food authorities (SFAs) play a critical role in feeding children across the United States: They are responsible for the procurement of food, supplies, equipment, and related services associated with the provision of federally funded Child Nutrition Programs. Each month, SFAs provide lunch to around 30 million students, serving 4.8 billion meals in fiscal year 2024. 2 To accomplish this task, school nutrition directors must comply with federal regulations and work closely with their school business officials to follow state and local procurement rules. Yet, as SFAs administer and execute these programs, they face significant barriers. For instance, a business manager from a rural school district shared that burdensome requirements and regulations “make it hard to do a great job, to provide good tasting and quality food to our students when so much time is spent on regulatory-type tasks.” Additionally, capacity challenges impair school nutrition staff’s ability to stay compliant and serve meals to students. One nutrition director from an urban school said, “[Because] we do not have a person dedicated for [food procurement] and we are so busy with all of the details associated with updating our procurement and managing this, we have little time to support the day-to-day work in the kitchens, which means our service to students is compromised.” There are systemic and market forces at play that make school food service difficult and stressful. Increased food and labor costs, staff shortages, and ongoing supply chain disruptions are just a few of the challenges that have created financial instability and made procurement a highly burdensome and complex task for school nutrition staff across the United States.
3 Procuring Good Food at School: From Contracts to Lunch Trays |
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