What is the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP)?

The Good Food Purchasing Program is a metric based, flexible framework that encourages large institutions to direct their buying power toward five core values: local economies, environmental sustainability, valued workforce, animal welfare and nutrition.

My child is a picky eater.  If the menu is changed, will he/she be able to find tasty things to eat?

The GFPP does not specify any particular menu.  Under GFPP, the variations to the menu are practically limitless.  What the GFPP does it makes everything transparent so students, parents, and the community know what our kids are eating, and how the food is sourced.  

Will the GFPP cost the District money, and, if so, where will this money come from?

The first step is an initial assessment to determine the baseline.  What is being served to our kids?  Where does this food come from?  This will cost money.  Foundations may pick up the cost.  There is a demonstrated savings once the GFPP is adopted.  Oakland saved $42K over a two-year period after adopting the GFPP.

What other school districts have implemented the GFPP?

• Los Angeles Unified School District (2012)
• City of Los Angeles (2012)
• San Francisco Unified School District (2016)
• Oakland Unified School District (2016)
• Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Park District, the City of Chicago (2017)
• Cook County, Illinois (2018)
• Washington DC Public Schools (2019)
• Cincinnati Public Schools (2019)
• City of Boston—includes Boston Public Schools (2019)
• Austin Independent School District (2019)

The Center for Good Food Purchasing provides a list of districts (and other institutions) who have adopted the program.

How can I find out the current menu at my school?

A list of all the school district’s menus can be found here.