Kymm Mutch, MS, RD

Wisconsin Farm to School SummitJune 26, 2013

"Leveraging the Power of Procurement to bring Farm to School to the School

Cafeteria"

Regional Learning Lab Project Director

A Program of Public Health Solutions

School Food FOCUS

… is a national collaborative that leverages the

knowledge and procurement power of large school

districts to make school meals nationwide more healthful,

regionally sourced, and sustainably produced.

FOCUS Approach and Values

Participatory and stakeholder-driven

Comfort with, at least tolerance for, not knowing

Co-learning and knowledge co-creation

Transformational leadership

Systems change

It’s all about relationships

Supply Chain

Discovery

PolicyPeerLearning

Procurement change

Process Of Procurement Change

Access to wholesome food

Re-training/Cooking

Kitchen Equipment

Procurement Change in School Kitchens…

Regional Learning Lab (RLL)

2012: first multi-district Learning Lab launched in the Midwest

Builds on collaborative methods and lessons learned in single-district Learning Labs

Redirects procurement of specific more healthful, regional and/or sustainable foods

Funding:

W.K. Kellogg

Kresge

Surdna

Lowenstein

Robert Wood Johnson

Regional Learning Lab School Districts

Regional Learning Lab

State School District District Partner

Illinois Chicago

Aramark Healthy Schools Campaign Family Farmed.org

Iowa Des Moines National Center for Appropriate Technology

Michigan Detroit Detroit Eastern Market Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems

Minnesota Minneapolis Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)

Minnesota Saint Paul Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)

Nebraska Omaha Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition

Ohio ClevelandOhio State University Extension

Additional Partners

• Great Lakes Region Farm to School Network (Wisconsin)• Asian Food Solutions, Inc. (Ohio)• Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative

Participating School Districts and Partner Organizations

Regional Learning LabStudent Enrollment for School Year 2012-2013

Photo Source: www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/6241138870/

Total Enrollment: 690,533 Students

Regional Learning Lab

Total Lunches Served per Day: 430,193

National School Lunch Program Daily Participation

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

Series1

Regional Learning Lab Districts Total Combined Food Service Operating Budgets

213.3 Million spent for Food194.6 Million spent for labor, administration and other operating costs

Total Combined Operating Budgets: $407.9 M

Regional Learning Lab School DistrictsDistributor Lineup

Gordon Food Service

Indianhead Food Service

Reinhart Food Service

Sysco Food Services

US Foods

Local Dairies, Bakeries and Produce vendors

A Simplified Food Supply Chain

Melanie Pullman, Food Supply Chain Management: Economic, Social and Environmental Perspectives, 2012.

• Explore options within commercial market and USDA Foods.

• Be creative: include growers, processors and products that do not currently serve the K-12 market.

• Reach out to all processors large enough to serve one, some, or all districts.

• Investigate potential for local supply.

• Identify gaps in infrastructure.

Supply Chain

Discovery

Producers

Processors Distributors School Districts

Regional Learning Lab Supply Chain

Discovery

? ?

Work Group Food items to start working on

TurkeyClean label turkey roast (whole or sliced):1) Smoked2) Roasted

Beans/GrainsStart with regionally grown and processed pinto beans in shelf

stable, not canned packaging; move towards a more healthful burrito

Fruit and Vegetables

RFI/RFP template including Geographic Preference and cosmetically imperfect seconds for: 1) Fresh produce2) Frozen produce

Chicken

RLL decisions about chicken made within the National Procurement Initiative

1) RWA/MSS drumsticks2) RWA/MSS chicken strips (like fajita without seasoning)

Combined Districts’ Food Priorities: After much deliberation, the work groups are…

Item CategoryNumber of

school districts

Number of products

SY2011 to 2012 July 2012 to Dec 2012

Total Pounds Total Dollars Total Pounds Total Dollars

Ham 4 5 333,000 $ 663,000 32,000 $ 66,000

Whole muscle 7 23 517,000 $ 543,000 231,000 $ 238,000

Hot dog 4 8 302,000 $ 360,000 141,000 $ 169,000

Lunch meat 5 12 220,000 $ 594,000 191,000 $ 338,000

Sausage 3 14 147,000 $ 226,000 60,000 $ 120,000

Patty 3 4 147,000 $ 357,000 58,000 $ 164,000

Ground 3 3 91,000 $ 191,000 117,000 $ 235,000

Bacon 2 1 13,000 $ 34,000 2,800 $ 7,200

Total 7 70 1,800,000 $ 3,000,000 834,000 $ 1,300,000

Turkey Baseline Data

Turkey Supply Chain Research

• Minnesota is top turkey-producing state. • Significant processing capacity within Midwest.• Michigan Turkey, the leading RWA producer in the Midwest, is

fully equipped to further process. • Jennie-O, also a major regional grower/processor, is

experimenting with RWA.• Antibiotic-resistant pathogens in raw turkey meat is a growing

and grave concern (Consumer Reports, June 2013).• Early conversations suggest that, once available, RWA K-12

products purchased open market would be a few pennies more per serving.

Work Group Food items to start working on

TurkeyClean label turkey roast (whole or sliced):1) Smoked2) Roasted

Beans/GrainsStart with regionally grown and processed pinto beans in shelf

stable, not canned packaging; move towards a more healthful burrito

Fruit and Vegetables

RFI/RFP template including Geographic Preference and cosmetically imperfect seconds for: 1) Fresh produce2) Frozen produce

Chicken

RLL decisions about chicken made within the National Procurement Initiative

1) RWA/MSS drumsticks2) RWA/MSS chicken strips (like fajita without seasoning)

Combined Districts’ Food Priorities: After much deliberation, the work groups are…

Beans and Grains:

Why beans?

• Meat substitute• “Bridge” protein• Ethnic preferences• Move to center of the plate• Increase student

acceptance• Workable in districts with

differing prep capacitySource: www.live-pure.com    

Bean Baseline Data  SY 2011 - 2012 July 2012 to Dec. 2012

Item Category Number of products

Number of districts Pounds Dollars Number of

districts Pounds Dollars

Burrito 4 3 165,000 255,000 2 270,000 177,000

Chili 8 2 61,000 79,000 2 21,000 30,000

Refried 2 5 137,000 39,000 6 110,000 294,000

Great Northern 6 3 44,000 29,000 2 5,400 45,000

Baked 4 4 161,000 17,000 6 73,000 150,000

Black 5 4 64,000 14,000 6 25,000 63,000

Kidney 3 4 131,000 14,000 6 137,000 339,000

Pinto 6 4 72,000 5,000 4 6,500 28,000

Garbanzo 1 3 9,900 3,500 5 18,000 47,000

Blackeye pea 2 1 1,700 890 3 2,500 10,000

Lima 4 0 0 0 2 2,600 5,000

Navy 9 0 0 0 1 4,200 5,500

Grand Total 54 7 847,000 456,000 7 675,000 1,194,000

Note: Missing some data

• Growing region: MI and MN with some in WI• Limited transparency up the supply chain• Vendor/Processors

• Captain Ken’s • Truitt Brothers – very transparent• Honey Bear• Chippewa Valley Growers (WI) - transparent• Indian Harvest: legume grain blends• OSI: Chipotle-style beans• Festa Food (Cleveland): burritos• Los Cabos: beef & bean burrito

Bean Supply Chain Discovery

Bean Plan of Action:

• Start with regionally grown and processed pinto beans in shelf stable, not canned packaging;

• Move towards a more healthful burrito• Tortilla will include grains

Work Group Food items to start working on

TurkeyClean label turkey roast (whole or sliced):1) Smoked2) Roasted

Beans/GrainsStart with regionally grown and processed pinto beans in shelf

stable, not canned packaging; move towards a more healthful burrito

Fruit and Vegetables

RFI/RFP template including Geographic Preference and cosmetically imperfect seconds for: 1) Fresh produce2) Frozen produce

Chicken

RLL decisions about chicken made within the National Procurement Initiative

1) RWA/MSS drumsticks2) RWA/MSS chicken strips (like fajita without seasoning)

Combined Districts’ Food Priorities: After much deliberation, the work groups are…

Initial foods for Fruits and Vegetables:

”

• Kale• Roasted Root Veg • Berries• Frozen regionally grown produce• Plus: Cosmetically-imperfect regional

“seconds”

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Source: edinburghselfcatering.wordpress.com 

 Item Category

Total Dollars

SY 2011-2012 July 2012 to Dec. 2012

Kale 0 0

Roasted Root Vegetables 15,000 6,400

Berries 300,000 140,000

Dark Green Vegetables 1,190,000 790,000

Red/Orange Vegetables 740,000 600,000

Grand Total 12,300,000 8,400,000

Produce Baseline Data

 Item Category

Total Dollars

SY 2011-2012 July 2012 to Dec. 2012

Kale 0 0

Roasted Root Vegetables 15,000 6,400

Berries 300,000 140,000

Dark Green Vegetables 1,190,000 790,000

Red/Orange Vegetables 740,000 600,000

Grand Total 12,300,000 8,400,000

Produce Plan:Switch from food items to processes

• Request for Information (RFI) template• Request for Proposal (RFP) template• Both the RFI and RFP will include

language for geographic preference and cosmetically imperfect seconds for:

Fresh produce Frozen produce

USDA Geographic Preference

• Harrison Institute for Public Law at Georgetown University Law Center reviews state, local and district level procurement policy for RFI/RFP compliance

• 3 of the 7 districts have used the RFI process to locate regional sources of fruits and vegetables

Cosmetically Imperfect “Seconds”

Why are we interested?• Typically plowed under - environmental

impacts.• Cost savings (e.g. MPS and Organic

Valley Squash).• Avenue to access

local/organic/sustainable food.

Cosmetically Imperfect “Seconds”

What are they?• Too large, small, or

misshapen.• Cosmetically imperfect (color,

scratches) but same nutritional quality.

What are they not?• Gleaned.• Diseased or nutritionally

compromised.

Source: r3n3.net

Source: 123rf.com

The Power of the Public Plate

Photo by Cynthia Torres

Engagement with USDA

• Seeking transparency in commodity foods sourcing

• Develop capacity for the foods that meet the goals of more healthful, regionally sourced and sustainably produced

• Develop specifications that can be used by large scale industry and small- to midsize-producers/growers

Work Group Food items to start working on

TurkeyClean label turkey roast (whole or sliced):1) Smoked2) Roasted

Beans/GrainsStart with regionally grown and processed pinto beans in shelf

stable, not canned packaging; move towards a more healthful burrito

Fruit and Vegetables

RFI/RFP template including Geographic Preference and cosmetically imperfect seconds for: 1) Fresh produce2) Frozen produce

Chicken

RLL decisions about chicken made within the National Procurement Initiative

1) RWA/MSS drumsticks2) RWA/MSS chicken strips (like fajita without seasoning)

Combined Districts’ Food Priorities: After much deliberation, the work groups are…

Thank you.

www.schoolfoodfocus.org

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